THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


PLAY  AND  PROFIT 


MY    GARDEN 


BY 

REV.    E.    P.    ROE, 

AUTHOR    OF 

'BARRIERS    BURNED    AWAY." 


NEW    YORK: 

DODD    &    MEAD,    PUBLISHERS, 

762      BROADWAY. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1873,  by 

DODD     &     MEAD, 
In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 


Stereotyped  at  the 

WOMEN'S     PRINTING     HOUSE, 

56,  58  and  60  Park  Street, 

New  York. 


AFFECTIONATELY     DEDICATED 

TO    MY 

HONORED     PATH  ER. 


641838 


PREFACE. 


THIS  is  not  a  scientific  work,  as  the  reader  will  soon  dis- 
cover. I  know  that  lofty  minds  will  pass  it  by  in  silent  dis- 
dain. I  have  not  tried  to  make  the  world  wiser.  Let  the  wise 
do  that. 

Nor  is  it  a  manual,  giving  in  terse,  sharp  periods,  the  greatest 
amount  of  accurate  information  in  briefest  space.  My  style,  I 
fear,  is  like  my  garden,  which  grows  successfully  many  weeds, 
while  attempting  something  useful.  I  never  could  write  a 
manual  any  more  than  I  could  work  steadily  in  my  garden  at 
one  thing  all  day.  I  always  did  like  to  weed  near  the  straw- 
berry-bed or  the  raspberries,  on  the  same  principle.  I  fear 
that  when  a  boy  (?)  I  enjoyed  sitting  near  the  choir,  where 
I  could  glance  at  the  pretty  singers  during  the  dry  passages 
of  the  sermon.  Do  we  not  need  occasional  relaxation  from 
the  severe  duties  of  life  ? 

In  brief,  it  is  my  sincere  conviction  that  a  garden  is  good 
for  humanity  (see  Genesis  ii.  8),  and  it  is  my  wish  to  diffuse 
this  belief  as  widely  as  possible. 

I  frankly  admit  that  the  following  pages  are  very  much  the 
same  in  character  as  if  I  had  taken  the  reader  by  the  arm, 


from  time  to  time,  and  strolled  around  my  garden-paths  (which 
are  irregular  and  straggling  as  my  story),  and  chatted  in  a  famil- 
iar way  on  the  topics  suggested  as  we  passed  along. 

I  know  that  I  shall  be  met  at  the  outset  by  that  inevitable 
Yankee  question,  "  Does  a  garden  pay  ?  " 

I  might  answer  indignantly,  does  it  pay  to  kiss  your  wife, 
to  dandle  your  baby,  or  to  go  back  to  the  past  (?)  to  look 
at  the  choir,  or  do  anything  else  agreeable  to  human  nature  ? 

Is  the  gain  in  health,  strength,  and  happiness,  which  this 
Eden  form  of  recreation  secures,  to  be  gauged  by  the  dollar 
symbol? 

Can  the  flavor  of  your  own  crisp  lettuce  or  strawberries  and 
cream  be  bought?  Is  the-  perfume  of  the  flowers  that  your 
own  hands  have  planted,  to  be  had  in  the  market  ? 

I  don't  believe  that  Eden  was  laid  out  on  the  principle  of 
a  "truck -garden,"  every  inch  being  planted  in  a  profitable 
crop;  nor  do  I  think  that  Adam  and  Eve  bustled  out  every 
morning  with  the  expression  seen  on  so  many  American  faces, 
"Time  is  money."  The  question  in  regard  to  a  garden  seems 
to  me  to  be,  shall  we  enjoy  a  little  bit  of  Paradise  this  side 
of  Jordan? 

Still  aware  of  the  general  indifference  to  Paradise  on  either 
side  of  Jordan,  I  hasten  to  state  that  my  garden  did  pay  in 
dollars  and  cents,  and  I  think  yours  can  be  made  to  do  the 
same,  my  reader,  as  I  shall  try  to  prove  in  the  following  pages. 


PLAY    AND     PROFIT 


MY      GARDEN. 


I. 

WILL  YOU  WALK  INTO  MY  GARDEN? 

Two  thousand  dollars  seems  a  snug  sum  to  a 
quiet,  professional  man,  but  to  a  country  parson, 
pastor  of  a  struggling  church,  it  looms  up  into 
the  regions  of  the  sublime. 

But  when  at  the  close  of  '71  I  came  to  sum 
up  the  results  of  my  small  garden  of  about  two 
acres,  I  found  the  grand  total  to  be  this  rather 
surprising  amount. 

If  this  success  had  grown  out  of  some  lucky 
stroke  of  fortune,  I  should  not  have  intruded  a 


8  WILL   YOU   WALK    INTO   MY   GARDEN? 

small  personal  matter  on  the  public.  But  I  am 
one  that  the  fickle  goddess  has  rarely  smiled 
upon,  and  hard  work  has  been  the  only  Alad- 
din's lamp  of  my  experience.  Again,  the  world 
is  ever  agape  at  those  gifted  with  genius,  who 
flash  with  meteoric  brilliancy  through  striking 
and  original  means  to  astonishing  results.  Alas  ! 
my  modest  little  garden  has  never  been  the 
scene  of  any  such  agricultural  pyrotechnics,  and 
I  warn  the  reader  from  the  start,  that  he  will 
find  nothing  to  dazzle  or  bewilder  in  the  follow- 
ing pages.  There  will  be  a  record  of  facts  and 
figures,  of  many  blunders,  lame  experiments, 
and  not  a  little  neglect.  In  brief,  it  will  be  my 
way  of  doing  it ;  and  already,  in  imagination, 
upon  the  face  of  many  a  notable  reader,  (if  I  se- 
cure the  attention  of  any  such,)  I  see  an  expres- 
sion of  supreme  disgust  and  horticultural  dis- 
dain. I  hear  them  say  in  tones  that  would 
blight  a  hardy  perennial : 


WILL   YOU   WALK   INTO   MY   GARDEN?  9 

"  The  idea  of  raising  anything  by  such  rough 
commonplace  methods  ;  it's  a  wonder  he  got 
his  seed  back.'' 

Yet,  thanks  to  kindly  Mother  Earth,  she  will 
give  a  struggling  onion  or  a  radish  a  good  lift 
on  in  the  world,  though  straggling  about  in 
places  where  they  have  no  business  to  be,  and 
not  planted  according  to  "  the  book."  At 
times,  when  absent  from  home,  I  have  met 
some  of  "the  agricultural  authorities,"  and  have 
ventured  to  put  my  "  small  treble  "  in  the  sono- 
rous discussions  of  the  ways  and  means.  But 
they  would  look  over  their  spectacles  at  me  with 
an  expression  such  as  might  rest  on  the  venera- 
ble faces  of  a  Presbytery  of  ripe  and  thoroughly 
indoctrinated  divines,  when  a  young  licentiate 
presumes  to  express  an  opinion  on  that  which 
they  had  settled  long  ago.  In  fact,  I  was  at  first 
led  into  painful  misgivings,  and  feared  that  on 
my  return  I  should  find  a  miserable  blight  steal- 


10  WILL   YOU   WALK    INTO   MY   GARDEN? 

ing  over  my  garden.  It  was  intimated,  as  a 
matter  of  course,  that  things  wouldn't  grow, 
couldn't  grow,  ought  not  to  grow,  unless  it  be 
in  an  orthodox  way,  and  that  with  them  seemed 
to  mean  their  way. 

But  when,  fluttering  with  apprehension,  I 
hastened  out  among  the  vegetable  heretics,  I 
usually  enjoyed  the  most  agreeable  surprises. 
Everything  had  developed  wonderfully  in  my 
absence,  and  plants,  that  did  not  seem  to  grow 
at  all  when  daily  watched,  had  in  the  interval, 
like  little  tow-headed  urchins,  not  seen  for  a 
year  or  more,  taken  a  palpable  step  toward  ro- 
bust maturity. 

The  fact  is,  vegetables  are  no  respecters  of 
persons,  and  acknowledge  no  hereditary,  horti- 
cultural, or  hypercritical  rights  vested  in  privi- 
leged classes. 

Then  there  is  another  favored  class,  who  justly 
boast  of  their  shrewdness.  The  world  finds  out 


WILL  YOU   WALK   INTO   MY   GARDEN?  II 

that  they  are  smart.  That  is  the  word.  They 
have  New  England  "  faculty,"  and  do  every- 
thing by  a  sort  of  sleight-of-hand  that  is  almost 
as  surprising  as  a  juggler's  marvels.  They  are 
as  quick  and  sharp  at  a  bargain  as  a  steel  trap. 
Even  while  you  are  gingerly  feeling  them,  and 
considering  the  matter  in  the  most  circumspect 
manner,  as  you  think,  you  are  caught  before 
you  know  it.  They  are  people  who  do  not 
need  capital.  They  invest  their  wits,  and  usu- 
ally get  the  Dutchman's  "  von  per  shent." 
Their  eyes  are  natural  microscopes,  and  see 
chances  and  openings  that  are  blank  walls  to 
ordinary  mortals.  Now,  I  have  no  doubt  that 
there  is  a  scope  for  this  kind  of  shrewdness  in 
the  garden,  although  Dame  Nature  is  a  very 
matter-of-fact  old  lady,  and  not  to  be  imposed 
upon.  Unless  her  rules  and  moods  are  com- 
plied with,  "we  waste  our  sweetness  on  the 
desert  air."  It  is  astonishing  what  credulous 


12  WILL   YOU   WALK    INTO    MY    GARDEN? 

humanity  can  be  made  to  do  and  believe.  One 
of  your  smart  men  can  talk  and  'engineer  any 
measure  through  ;  but  there  is  just  that  per- 
verseness  about  nature,  that  if  a  thing  is  not 
done  exactly  right,  it  is  done  in  vain.  If  a  seed 
is  sown  too  deeply,  or  out  of  season,  all  the 
wisdom  in  the  world  may  settle  that  it  is  right, 
but  Nature  will  prove  that  it  is  wrong,  and  no 
amount  of  coaxing  or  sharp  practice  will  help 
matters. 

But,  while  highly  valuing  the  keen-eyed  thrift 
that  sees  diamonds  of  opportunity  in  the  sands 
that  others  plod  stolidly  over,  I  must  confess 
that  I  am  not  a  Yankee.  My  little  ventures 
have  often  netted  me  a  handsome  loss,  and  I 
have  again  and  again  seen  where  I  could  have 
made  a  good  round  sum  when  it  was  a  little  too 
late. 

In  brief,  I  am  a  humble  disciple  of  Nature.  I 
sit  at  her  feet  and  learn.  Instead  of  striding  into 


WILL  YOU   WALK   INTO   MY   GARDEN?  13 

my  garden  with  a  high-sounding  theory  that  a 
score  of  savans  have  sat  on,  thus  giving  their  seal 
and  sanction,  and  with  this  seeking  to  daunt  the 
good  dame,  I  saunter  leisurely  around  my  walks 
(which  much  resemble  cow-paths),  and  watch 
for  sly  hints,  suggestive  nods  and  beckonings. 
While  in  this  spirit  she  will  often  give  you  a 
glimpse  of  a  secret,  as  a  kindly  old  lady  shows 
to  her  grandchild  the  end  of  a  paper  parcel  pro- 
truding from  her  capacious  pocket.  Follow  up 
sharply  and  the  treasure  is  yours. 

Therefore  it  has  seemed  to  me  that  what  I 
have  done  any  one  can  do,  who  is  willing  to  soil 
black  clothes  and  white  hands.  Of  course,  there 
are  two  other  conditions.  First,  land  ;  second, 
a  love,  natural  or  acquired,  for  its  cultivation. 
A  back-yard  in  the  city  can  grow  little  save 
cats,  and  the  mellowest  garden  in  the  world  will 
become  a  tangle  of  thorns  under  a  man  who 
hates  and  shirks  its  care. 


14  WILL   YOU  WALK    INTO   MY   GARDEN? 

But  the  love  of  the  soil,  like  the  love  of  chil- 
dren, is  a  very  general  instinct,  and  though  our 
artificial  life  is  hostile  to  both,  it  will  be  some 
time  yet  before  the  race  will  betake  itself  to  city 
boarding-houses,  where  ground  is  not  and  chil- 
dren are  forbidden.  To  that  class,  wLo  must 
be  ready  for  the  end  of  the  world,  since  they 
would  bring  it  about,  we  have  not  a  word  to 
say. 

There  is  still  a  most  respectable  audience 
among  those  who  continue  a  little  homesick  for 
Eden,  and  who  would  gladly  go  backward  and 
approach  somewhat  to  that  state  when  the  first 
man  "was  put  into  the  garden  to  dress  and  to 
keep  it,"  and  his  wife  had  not  meddled  with 
things  forbidden. 

There  are  many  having  land  about  them  like 
uninvested  money,  bringing  in  little  or  nothing ; 
others  for  whom  it  is  a  bad  investment,  making 
for  them  a  yearly  loss  ;  still  more  for  whom  it  is 


WILL   YOU   WALK    INTO    MY   GARDEN?  15 


a  poor  investment,  securing  but  slight  and  pre- 
carious return.  Possibly  these  pages  may  sug- 
gest better  things. 

There  are  thousands  in  cities  pining  for  the 
pure  healthful  air  of  the  country.  There  are 
multitudes  shut  up  within  tenement-houses  and 
brick  walls,  and  paying  roundly  for  their  pris- 
ons too,  where  their  children  grow  up  pale  and 
sickly,  like  plants  in  the  shade,  poisoned  physi- 
cally and  morally  by  the  conditions  of  their  life, 
who  might  have  a  home  on  some  breezy  hill- 
side, that  would  almost,  if  not  more  than  pay  its 
own  way.  But  I  mean  to  draw  no  rose-colored 
pictures,  nor  indulge  in  misleading  generalities. 
By  country,  I  do  not  mean  swamps,  or  low  lands 
where  the  mosquitoes  keep  up  the  old  allopathic 
treatment,  and  bleed  a  man  to  a  skeleton,  and 
then  chills  and  fever  step  in,  and  finish  him  by 
shaking  his  bones  loose.  I  mean  land  with  good 
drainage.  Without  that,  speculators  may  ro- 


l6  WILL   YOU   WALK    INTO    MY    GARDEN? 

mance  in  vain  about  the  healthfulness  of  the  lo- 
cation, such  rare  salubrity  that  people  do  not 
die,  "  but  dry  up  and  blow  away." 

Nor  do  I  mean  to  intimate  that  any  such 
gardening  will  answer  as  was  suggested  by  an 
enthusiastic  Western  orator,  when  he  quoted  : 
"  Our  prairies  are  so  fertile,  that  we  have  only 
to  tickle  them  with  a  plough  and  they  laugh  into 
a  harvest."  It  took  a  good  deal  more  than 
tickling  to  make  my  garden  produce  $2,000  in 
one  summer,  I  assure  you.  But  I  do  hope  to 
show  some  that  in  their  idle,  weedy  fields,  and 
neglected  gardens,  there  is  an  unwrought  mine 
of  wealth  and  happiness  ;  and  I  do  mean  to 
prove  that  what  they  get  will  be  by  the  "  sweat 
of  the  face,"  as  God  said  of  the  first  gardener 
when  he  commenced  breaking  in  such  land  as 
ours.  (I  find  the  Bible  and  my  garden  fit  to- 
gether as  accurately  as  an  acorn  in  its  cup,  how- 
ever "the  authorities  "  may  disagree.)  But  be- 


WILL   YOU    WALK    INTO    MY    GARDEN?  17 

fore  my  reader  is  repelled  by  this  condition,  let 
him  ask  his  physician  what  he  thinks  of  a  good 
perspiration  over  the  fresh-turned  earth.  I 
think  that  the  medical  gentleman  would  be  ob- 
liged to  admit  that,  like  Othello,  his  occupation 
would  be  gone  if  this  corrective  and  tonic  were 
generally  indulged  in. 

I  hope  the  few  preceding  paragraphs  have 
not  proved  a  long  and  tiresome  way  of  saying 
to  the  reader  "  Once  upon  a  time,"  the  brief 
and  classic  preface  of  so  many  stories.  I  shall 
now  proceed  to  tell  mine,  to  faithfully  portray 
my  garden  as  it  exists  and  has  existed.  I  shall 
carry  the  reader  forward  with  the  season.  He 
shall  see  the  seed  planted,  and  watch  it  come 
up  and  grow  into  bulky  vegetables.  My  straw- 
berries shall  ripen  under  his  eyes,  and  my  vines 
hang  their  clusters  in  aggravating  proximity  to 
his  nose.  And  then  he  shall  go  to  market  with 
them  and  count  the  change — and  he  meantime 


1 8  WILL   YOU   WALK   INTO    MY    GARDEN? 

in  his  arm-chair.  All  shall  be  as  clear  and  gra- 
phic as  the  play  wherein  Bottom  the  weaver  ex- 
plained everything,  and  left  little  room  for  the 
imagination.  But,  however  numerous  the  de- 
fects of  the  story,  it  shall  be  unmarred  by  one 
— insincerity.  It  will  be  a  truthful  record  of 
an  actual  experience.  I  shall  aim  to  tell  sim- 
ply and  naturally  how  my  summer  recreation 
was  a  source  of  profit  in  many  ways,  for  the 
$2,000  does  not  sum  up  all  that  I  gained,  by 
any  means.  If  a  little  unstrained  humor  plays 
over  these  pages,  let  it  be  like  the  sunlight  that 
falls  upon  my  garden,  now  lighting  up  a  homely 
cabbage-patch,  now  reddening  the  cheek  of  the 
patrician  strawberry.  If  some  parts  are '  dull, 
remember  there  are  dull,  dark  days  in  the  gar- 
den, when  the  ground  is  bare  and  nothing  but 
plodding  work  to  be  done.  If,  now  and  then, 
dry  spots  are  found,  remember  in  charity  that 
drought  is  the  worst  enemy  of  gardens  as 


WILL  YOU   WALK   INTO   MY   GARDEN?  19 

well  as  books,  and  if  you  have  seen  cherished 
crops  shrivel  and  wither  as  I  have,  you  would 
not  be  surprised  that  a  few  dead  leaves  mingle 
with  these.  If  these  pages  incite  a  few  weary 
brain-workers  to  that  great  duty  in  our  hard- 
driving  American  life — healthful  recreation  ;  if 
to  some  hollow  cheeks  and  still  hollower  pockets 
of  my  beloved  brethren  of  the  country  pastor- 
ate, I  can  bring  a  greater  fulness  by  alluring 
them  also  into  "a  garden  to  dress  it  and  to  keep 
it,"  I  shall  have  plucked  from  my  little  shadow 
of  the  lost  Eden  the  choicest  fruit  of  all. 


II. 

MY   GARDEN  ACCOUNTED   FOR. 

ALTHOUGH  I  do  not  hold  with  the  late  la- 
mented Diedrich  Knickerbocker,  that  in  writing 
a  history  it  is  necessary  to  go  back  to  the  pre- 
Adamic  ages  and  account  for  everything  up  to 
the  time  in  question,  still,  in  presenting  my  gar- 
den to  the  reader,  it  is  necessary  to  give  some 
account  of  myself;  for,  paradoxical  as  it  may 
seem,  the  material  garden  is  largely  a  mental 
product.  The  stony  field  looks  very  differently 
now  from  what  it  did  when  I  took  it  six  years 
ago,  and  that  difference  is  due  mainly  to 
thought.  I  have  planned  it  before  going  to 
sleep  at  night,  and  laid  it  out  when  mastered  by 
my  old  enemy,  sick  headache,  and  too  misera- 


MY   GARDEN   ACCOUNTED    FOR. 


ble  to  think  of  much  else  save  some  favorite 
hobby.  I  have  plotted  it  during  long,  monoton- 
ous journeys,  and  perfected  many  details  be- 
fore spade  or  plough  touched  the  heavy  loam. 
It  has  been  almost  my  only  recreation  during  a 
country  pastorate. 

But  a  deep  abiding  liking  for  any  pursuit  is 
not  the  growth  of  a  night.  We  do  not  wake  up 
as  in  the  fairy  tales  and  find  ourselves  or  every- 
thing around  us  changed,  for  it  amounts  to  about 
the  same  thing.  However  general  may  be  the 
taste  for  rural  life,  a  most  decided  predisposition 
and  love  of  it,  as  of  anything  else,  must  either 
be  inherited  or  developed  by  peculiar  circum- 
stances. Just  those  circumstances  existed  in 
my  early  home,  and  still  exist,  for  the  dear  old 
place  is  in  the  main  unchanged. 

The  same  clear  little  brook  murmurs  musi- 
cally across  the  lawn  and  skirts  the  garden,  im- 
peded here  and  there  by  water-cresses,  and  by 


MY   GARDEN   ACCOUNTED    FOR. 


mimic  dams  made  by  other  childish  hands  than 
mine.  The  same  slumberous  sound  comes  from 
Moodna  Creek  as  it  rolls  over  the  "  Tumbling 
Dam,"  scene  of  many  thrilling  boyish  exploits 
in  snaring  suckers.  On  the  steep  hill  behind 
the  house  still  stand  the  great  chestnut-trees,  to 
which  I  raced  with  the  turkeys  in  crisp  October 
dawns,  to  secure  the  first  downy  nuts  that  the 
night  winds  had  rattled  to  the  ground.  Hard 
by  are  yet  growing  the  butternuts  that  furnished 
a  winter's  store  to  us  children  and  sundry  fami- 
lies of  red  squirrels.  In  the  stony  lot  the  tall 
pine  still  breathes  its  sighs  night  and  day,  only 
they  seem  more  real  and  mournful  than  when 
they  fell  on  my  childish  ears.  The  trees  in  the 
orchards  have  lost  many  of  their  side-boughs 
during  the  storms  of  past  years,  but  they  stand 
like  aged  Christian  patriarchs,  persisting  in  well- 
doing though  they  can  no  longer  bear  the  fruit 
of  their  prime  There  are  the  large  barn  and 


MY   GARDEN   ACCOUNTED    FOR.  23 

outbuildings,  where  we  searched  for  stolen  nests 
with  more  zest  than  fortune-hunters  for  diamonds 
in  the  hot  African  sands.  The  same  grand  old 
trees  throw  their  shadows  around  the  roomy 
country-house,  and  even  the  same  white  rose- 
bush climbs  to  the  window  of  the  room  of  that 
dear  mother,  who  years  ago  climbed  to  where 
the  flowers  she  so  fondly  loved  do  not  fade. 
In  the  adjoining  beds  and  through  the  garden 
still  bloom  the  hardy  perennials  that  her  hands 
planted,  and  every  spring  and  summer  they  are 
her  fragrant  memorials.  Oh,  how  vividly  their 
perfume  brings  back  her  drooping  form  as  she 
bent  over  them,  and  it  seems  that  she  has 
breathed  part  of  her  sweet  pure  spirit  into 
their  poor  plant  life.  If  we  would  live  pleas- 
antly in  the  recollection  of  those  remaining,  let. 
not  the  cold  marble  in  some  unvisited  graveyard 
be  our  only  monuments,  but  plants,  trees,  and 
flowers,  and  then  every  spring  there  will  be  a 


24  MY   GARDEN   ACCOUNTED   FOR. 

resurrection  of  our  memory  which  will  continue 
green  and  fragrant  for  months. 

My  mother  was  an  invalid,  but  so  cheerful  a 
one  that  she  chose  the  sunniest  room  of  the 
house  as  her  own,  and  as  boy  and  youth  I  never 
remember  entering  it  without  seeing  flowers 
upon  her  open  Bible.  From  my  earliest  recol- 
lection, she  was  accustomed  to  sit  in  her  garden- 
chair  and  direct  or  walk  feebly  around,  and  help 
me  in  the  care  of  what  were  to  her  pets  and 
friends.  Oh,  that  I  could  help  her  now  with 
the  patience  of  a  man,  and  atone  for  the  heed- 
lessness  and  petulance  of  the  boy. 

But  the  one  who  has  done  most  to  inspire  me 
with  a  fondness  and  knowledge  of  gardening, 
is  still  at  the  old  homestead — a  silver-haired 
patriarch  of  eighty-four,  and  yet  "  his  eye  is 
not  dim,  nor  his  natural  force  abated." 

The  large  square  garden  with  its  flower-bor- 
dered walks  daily  prove  his  skill  and  vigor; 


MY   GARDEN   ACCOUNTED    FOR.  25 

and  though  the  gardener  turns  off  the  heavier 
work,  there  are  few  of  its  labors  he  cannot  lead 
off  in  still.  Many  a  happy  hour  I  have  worked 
there  at  his  side  and  under  his  direction.  It 
must  be  confessed  that  my  experience  was  not 
altogether  thornless,  especially  when  my  task 
was  among  the  raspberry  and  blackberry 
bushes  and  the  day  was  good  for  fishing,  nor 
always  rose-colored  when  directed  to  weed  a 
rose-border.  Volumes  of  poetry  have  been 
written  about  roses,  but  their  bushes  in  early 
April  are  desperately  prosaic  and  inclined  to 
scratch. 

Our  strawberry-bed  also  was  annually  in- 
vaded by  legions  of  white  clover  and  sorrel, 
and  my  back  still  aches  in  memory  of  the  boy- 
ish weariness  with  which  I  weeded  my  daily 
stint.  But  then,  on  the  other  hand,  there  was 
a  bright  side  to  the  picture.  I  would  win 
gracious  smiles  from  the  girls  by  bringing 


26  MY    GARDEN    ACCOUNTED    FOR. 

them  a  half-bushel  of  rose-buds  on  some  fes- 
tival occasion.  And  even  the  strawberry-bed, 
that  through  much  of  the  year  I  anathematized 
by  mild  boyish  expletives,  became  the  scene 
of  a  joyous  thrill  of  excitement  and  exultation, 
as  on  the  last  of  May  we  found  the  first  ripe 
berry  and  bore  it  in  triumph  to  mother.  Oh, 
the  wonder  she  would  express.  "  So  early  ! 
Why,  she  thought  they  were  scarcely  out  of 
blossom  yetN  She  would  get  better  right  away, 
now  that  she  had  strawberries."  We  were  in 
a  mood  then  to  weed  strawberry-beds  forever. 
What  saints  we  would  be  if  we  could  only 
keep  up  our  virtuous  and  exalted  states  !  But 
I'm  afraid  I  was  impatient  over  and  over  again 
before  the  autumn  weeding  was  complete.  I 
need  not  descant  on  the  summer  and  autumn 
fruits  that  we  indulged  in  ad  libitum,  nor  the 
luscious  melons,  revelled  in  under  the  shade  at 
noon,  and  jealously,  but  often  vainly,  watched 


MY   GARDEN   ACCOUNTED    FOR.  27 

over  by  night  lest  the  factory  urchins  should 
make  love  to  them  also.  Suffice  it  to  say  that 
taking  the  sweet  with  the  bitter,  as  ever  must 
be  done  in  this  world,  the  sweet  predominated, 
and  the  garden  gradually  and  surely  took  its 
place  in  that  warm  corner  of  the  heart  that  we 
reserve  for  the  things  we  love. 

And  even  now  the  sweetest  play  spell  of  my 
middle  age  is  to  go  back  to  the  old  place  with 
its  dear  memories  and  associations,  and  spend  a 
few  hours  with  my  honored  father  in  the  scene 
of  boyish  labors.  I  usually  find  him  among 
his  flowers  and  vegetables,  armed  with  his  hoe 
and  rake,  and  it  ever  seems  that  he  has  found  in 
his  garden  what  Adam  lost  in  his — peace  and 
happiness.  At  the  sound  of  my  approaching 
footsteps  he  pushes  back  his  broad-brimmed 
hat  and  spectacles,  and  on  recognition  greets 
me  with  a  kiss  as  when  I  was  a  little  boy,  and  I 
am  at  home. 


28  MY   GARDEN   ACCOUNTED    FOR. 

Sometimes  when  I  am  working  there  with 
him,  it  seems  as  if  the  mystical  and  eternal 
paradise  bordered  on  that  old  garden,  and  we 
might  step  over  into  it  unawares. 

Then  after  an  hour  or  two  of  labor  follows 
such  a  dinner.  Benjamin's  portion  was  a  mor- 
sel compared  with  the  way  my  plate  is  heaped, 
for  somehow  while  there  the  old  boyish  appetite 
comes  back,  and  enough  is  made  way  with  to 
make  one  a  very  "blue  Presbyterian"  on  any 
ordinary  occasion. 

Then  comes  a  stroll  to  scenes  abounding  in 
pleasant  memories,  or  a  shady  seat  in  the  old 
garden  again. 

Truly  our  Lord  called  heaven  by  a  sweet 
alluring  name  when  He  said  the  "Father's 
house ; "  and  my  father's  house  is  to  me  the 
best  type  of  the  home  above. 

This  then  is  the  good  old  stock  out  of  which 
my  garden  grew.  When  I  remember  how  my 


MY   GARDEN   ACCOUNTED    FOR. 


mother,  through  years  of  pain  and  weakness, 
found  sweet  solace  and  unfailing  enjoyment  in 
her  flowers  ;  when  I  see  my  father  at  an  age 
when  to  most  life  is  a  burden,  entering  upon  the 
new  campaign  of  the  season  with  all  the  zest  of 
youth,  I  feel  assured  that  here  is  a  pleasure  that 
will  not  satiate  and  pall  upon  the  taste.  And 
this  conviction  has  been  confirmed  by  much 
observation.  With  few  exceptions,  the  mellow 
and  agreeable  ladies  of  my  acquaintance  are 
fond  of  the  culture  of  flowers.  When  I  see  a 
window  green  with  plants,  or  a  porch  interlaced 
with  vines  and  flanked  by  flower-beds,  I  am 
satisfied  that  there  is  nothing  acid  or  sharp- 
set  about  the  lady  of  the  house,  and  that  she 
sweetens  her  domestic  circle  like  the  lump 
of  sugar  that  the  old  Dutch  dames  suspended 
over  their  tables  for  their  guests  or  family 
to  nibble  at  while  they  sipped  the  then  rare 
beverage  of  tea.  Men  whose  hobbies  are 


30  MY   GARDEN   ACCOUNTED    FOR. 

among  their  trees  or  gardens  seem,  to  grow 
perennial  themselves. 

Adjoining  my  father's  place,  on  what  was  a 
barren  hillside,  stands  a  noble  orchard  planted 
years  ago  by  an  old  Quaker  gentleman,  whose 
memory  is  still  honored  in  that  neighborhood. 
Some,  wise  after  the  fashion  of  this  world, 
laughed  at  the  gray-headed  man  as  they  passed, 
and  shouted  from  the  roadside  : 

"  You  will  never  eat  the  fruit  of  those  trees, 
Mr.  S ." 

"  Others  will,  then,"  quietly  answered  the 
good,  benevolent  man. 

But,  bless  you,  he  did  eat  their  fruit  year 
after  year,  and,  for  all  we  know,  his  life  was 
lengthened  out  that  he  might,  And  others 
have  eaten  them  too.  Not  only  have  three 
generations  of  his  own  family  enjoyed  them,  but 
a  half-dozen  families  in  the  vicinity  have  man- 


MY   GARDEN   ACCOUNTED    FOR.  31 

aged  to  supply  themselves,  by  hook  and  by 
crook,  mainly  by  the  former. 

He  was  a  kind,  genial  old  gentleman,  who 
had  a  young  heart,  and  planted  better  fruit  than 
pippins.  It  was  his  delight  to  visit  schools  and 
speak  to  the  young.  I  can  see  him  now  as  I 
remember  him  when  I  sat  on  the  front  bench 
among  the  little  boys.  His  benevolent,  placid 
face  was  shaded  by  curling  silver  locks,  and  as 
he  stood  before  us  in  his  plain  garb  leaning  on 
his  gold-headed  cane,  the  rudest  and  most  mis- 
chievous urchin  was  subdued  into  a  sort  of 
sympathetic  respect.  I  think  that  he  will  eat 
some  of  the  fruit  of  such  plantings  in  heaven. 

The  worldly-wise  are  a  shallow,  short-sighted 
set  after  all. 

"But  what  has  all  this  to  do  with  the  gar- 
den?" growls  some  critical  reader. 

Every  one  of  any  agricultural  experience  will 
tell  you  that  almost  all  vegetables  and  fruits 


32  MY    GARDEN   ACCOUNTED    FOR. 

are  inclined  to  "  sport,"  digress.  Strawberries 
and  string-beans  are  by  no  means  always  logical 
and  consecutive,  and  as  I  draw  the  inspiration 
of  these  pages  from  Nature,  lay  the  blame  where 
it  belongs. 

But  I  will  immediately  step  back  into  the  line 
of  succession — the  only  place  for  a  clergyman, 
according  to  the  view  of  some. 

Having  thus  observed  that  the  loving  care  of 
a  garden,  even  though  it  consist  of  only  a 
cracked  teapot,  with  a  struggling  plant,  such  as 
I  have  seen  under  the  eaves  of  a  tall  tenement- 
house,  is  so  conducive  to  health  and  happiness, 
and  beneficial  to  character,  I  determined  that 
whenever  opportunity  offered,  a  garden  should 
be  a  part  of  my  experience.  A  will  usually 
finds  a  way,  and  even  during  the  horror  of  our 
civil  war,  while  chaplain  at  the  Fort  Monroe 
hospitals,  I  had  a  chance  to  indulge  my  bent  to 
some  good  purpose.  The  surgeon  in  charge 


MY   GARDEN   ACCOUNTED    FOR.  33 

asked  me  to  assume  the  care  of  the  hospital 
farm  adjacent  to  the  wards.  The  patients  did 
the  work  and  renewed  their  own  vigor  while 
supplying  the  means  of  health  to  others.  One- 
armed  heroes  could  sow  seed  and  weed,  though 
they  could  not  dig  and  hoe.  After  the  usual 
discouragements  in  getting  started,  we  made  a 
fine  success,  and  sent  fresh  vegetables  to  the 
patients  daily  by  the  four-mule-team  load. 

After  the  war,  I  was  settled  over  a  country 
church,  one  mile  from  West  Point  Military 
Academy,  and  of  course  looked  around  for  a 
garden  as  naturally  as  a  migratory  water-fowl 
for  water.  I  know  what  bird  some  unsuccessful 
gardeners  will  think  of,  but  I  will  prove  them 
mistaken.  The  one,  I  mean  the  garden  not  the 
goose,  adjoining  the  parsonage  was  little  more 
than  a  sand  heap,  and  very  small.  In  brief, 
quite  a  come-down  from  my  forty-acre  rich  Vir- 
ginia farm.  There  were  a  vine  or  two,  three 


34  MY    GARDEN   ACCOUNTED    FOR. 

cherry-trees,  a  straggling  row  of  common  cur- 
rants, and  five  hills  of  rhubarb.  This  was  my 
starting  point. 

That  spring  I  obtained  from  my  late  and  truly 
lamented  friend,  Lindley  M.  Ferris,  Esq.,  ten 
dwarf  pear-trees,  and  noble  fellows  they  are 
proving.  From  one,  last  summer,  I  picked 
seventy  splendid  Bartletts. 

Then  on  a  bright  day,  when  a  steady  south 
breeze  was  blowing  up  the  river  and  there  was 
a  strong  flood-tide,  I  hired  a  boat  and  raised  the 
lid  of  a  large  trunk  that  I  was  taking  home  (the 
old  place  is  home  still),  and  sailed  up  the  Hudson 
in  gallant  style,  with  a  craft  rigged  as  one  surely 
never  was  before. 

I  soon  reached  my  father's  place  on  Newburgh 
bay,  and  there  made  such  a  raid  as  only  an  old 
cavalryman  can  understand.  Having  loaded  my 
boat  with  rich  and  varied  spoils  of  flowers  and 
fruits,  I  returned,  and  the  results  of  that  expe- 


MY   GARDEN   ACCOUNTED    FOR.  35 

dition  are.  growing  more  luscious  and  abundant 
every  year.  I  had  now  the  nucleus  of  a  garden, 
and  my  children  could  form  the  associations  and 
acquire  the  tastes  that  I  had  found  so  pleasant 
and  useful.  A  sand  heap  is  the  place  where 
they  are  first  initiated  into  its  mysteries.  Here 
they  plant  about  everything  they  can  lay  their 
hands  on,  and  often  half  bury  themselves.  In- 
numerable egg-shells  have  been  carefully  cov- 
ered up,  in  the  delusive  hope  that  little  chickens 
would  sprout.  But  have  not  experienced  gar- 
deners sown  many  high-priced  seeds  as  vainly? 
Still  the  credulous  little  planters  are  coming  on, 
and  this  summer  the  eldest  shall  have  a  flower- 
bed all  to  herself,  with  real  geraniums  and  pan- 
sies  in  it,  and  the  very  thought  will  make  her 
eyes  sparkle  at  any  time. 

I  joy  to  see  this  budding  taste  in  them  and  every 
one,  for  I  believe  that  the  love  of  the  garden  here 
helps  prepare  us  to  be  with  Him  in  Paradise. 


III. 

MY   GARDEN — ITS   LOCATION. 

IF  I  could  search  the  country  over,  I  could, 
perhaps,  find  few  gardens  with  a  finer  prospect. 
It  is  in  the  centre  of  the  Switzerland  of  Amer- 
ica— the  Highlands  of  the  Hudson  ;  and  it 
slopes  nearly  to  the  rocky  precipitous  bluff 
overhanging  the  west  shore  of  the  river.  On 
every  side  there  is  varied  and  striking  scenery, 
a  happy  combination  of  civilization  and  the 
wilderness.  Immediately  along  the  river  bank 
are  fine  cultivated  places,  the  rural  homes  of 
people  who  are  surrounded  by  so  much  beauty 
that  they  may  be  tempted  never  to  say,  with 
very  good  grace,  "  Nunc  dimittas"  etc.  A 
mile  to  the  northward  is  that  perfection  of  mili- 


MY    GARDEN ITS    LOCATION.  37 

tary  posts,  West  Point,  with  its  smooth,  grassy 
plain,  bold  shores,  and  commanding  positions 
bristling  with  cannon.  The  stately  academic 
buildings,  the  substantial  quarters  with  their 
trim  gardens,  make  all  the  more  inviting  a  pict- 
ure when  seen  against  the  sombre  background 
where  Nature,  in  her  wildest  moods,  presents 
the  rocky  cliff,  the  black  ravine,  and  shadowy 
forest. 

On  the  bluff  adjoining  my  garden,  Cozzens' 
great  hotel  looms  up  like  a  mountain  of 
brick.  Just  beneath,  in  its  cool  shadow  and 
almost  dashed  by  the  spray  of  Buttermilk  Falls, 
stands  a  new  hotel,  known  as  the  Parry  House. 
Both  are  patrons  of  my  garden,  and  are  so 
near  that  the  strawberries  hardly  stop  growing 
before  they  are  in  the  mouths  of  the  guests. 
A  little  to  the  north  is  the  village  of  Highland 
Falls,  my  market-town.  On  the  outskirts  of 
this  are  neat  cottages  and  roomy  summer 


38  MY    GARDEN ITS    LOCATION. 

boarding-houses,  where  city  families,  at  moder- 
ate prices,  can  enjoy  mountain  air  and  scenery, 
while  their  children  are  "  done  brown  "  by  the 
July  sun. 

To  the  west,  and  just  back  of  the  village, 
rises  Bear  Mountain  and  other  wooded  high- 
lands, abounding  in  walks,  horseback  rides, 
magnificent  views,  arid  romantic  lakes,  that 
might  furnish  occupation  to  the  artist  and 
sportsman,  and  delightful  recreation  to  all  not 
enamored  by  the  richer  pleasures  of  the  garden. 
On  the  east,  within  pistol-shot,  the  Hudson 
flows  grandly  by,  dotted  with  white  sails, 
musical  with  the  splashing  wheels  of  passing 
steamers,  and  furnishing  a  broad,  cool  avenue 
to  my  city  customers  from  their  hot,  dusty 
streets  to  the  airy  summer  hotels,  where  my 
strawberries,  just  picked,  are  ready  for  their 
supper. 

We   have    strong,    pure    mountain   air,    and 


MY   GARDEN — ITS    LOCATION.  39 

yet  are  so  near  the  coast,  that  it  is  happily 
tempered  by  the  sea.  It  thus  meets  the  needs 
of  invalids,  and  probably  does  them  more  good 
than  anything  else  can,  save  an  hour  or  two 
daily  with  a  hoe  or  rake  over  the  fresh  soil. 

My  garden  is  also  a  classic  region,  which  is 
fitting,  as  gardening  is  highly  classical.  I  can 
sit  in  the  shade  of  my  lima  beans,  or  beneath  a 
spreading  Kittatinny  blackberry  bush,  eating  a 
juicy  berry  now  and  then,  as  thinking  is  dry 
work,  and  meditate  on  the  past.  There  before 
me  in  the  distance  rises  Fort  Putnam,  still  a 
stately  ruin,  and  there  across  the  river  is  the 
house  where  Arnold  plotted  his  treason,  and 
there  the  ravine  down  which  he  ran,  and  the 
little  cove  from  which  he  embarked  in  breath- 
less haste  on  its  discovery.  The  Father  of  his 
country  has  been  here.  He  may  have  stood 
where  my  garden  now  is.  Hallowed  soil  ! 
Why  should  not  things  grow?  Perhaps  this 


40  MY    GARDEN ITS    LOCATION. 

accounts  for  my  bush-beans  so  often  aspiring  to 
be  climbers.  A  high  and  elevating  influence 
still  lingers  here. 

But,  after  a  sultry  July  day,  when  the  moon- 
light falls  cool  and  clear  on  mountain  and  river, 
that  is  the  witching  time  for  a  stroll  in  my  gar- 
den. Then  by  the  weird  power  of  imagination 
(eating  Black-caps  in  the  meantime  with  the 
dew  on  them  to  keep  up  the  connection  with 
the  present)  you  can  conjure  up  the  past. 
There,  on  the  white  ramparts  of  Fort  Putnam, 
against  the  northern  sky,  you  can  see  a  shadowy 
Continental  with  his  matchlock  pacing  up  and 
down  in  ghostly  vigilance  ;  or  the  gleaming 
canvas  of  the  passing  vessels  on  the  river  can 
become  to  you  the  phantom  sails  of  the  British 
fleet,  and  the  dip  of  some  distant  oar  that  of  an 
emissary  of  the  traitorous  Arnold. 

If  your  fancy  is  of  a  lighter  cast,  the  fays  and 
sprites  of  Rodman  Drake  will  light  down  from 


MY   GARDEN — ITS    LOCATION.  41 

Cro'  Nest  yonder,  and  trip  a  fairy  measure  on 
the  dewy  leaves  of  the  strawberry-bed. 

But  blare  !  bang  !  and  the  tinkling  of  fairy 
music  is  drowned  by  the  sonorous  strains  of  the 
hotel  band  as  they  tune  up  for  the  German. 
The  "  fa'  o'  the  fairy  feet "  will  scarcely,  we  fear, 
apply  to  the  solid  thump  of  some  stately  dow- 
ager, who  now,  on  her  old  campaigning-ground, 
feels  the  influence  that  stirred  her  heart  years  ago. 

The  illusion  passes,  but  the  Black-caps  re- 
main, cool  and  crisp,  and  we  are  comforted. 

The  guests  at  the  hotel  can  look  down  on  my 
garden,  and  by  the  aid  of  a  good  glass  can 
almost  see  the  berries  ripening  for  their  suppers. 
From  little  straws  on  the  current  I  am  satisfied 
that  some  do  look  down  on  the  garden  in  more 
ways  than  the  one  indicated.  They  are  not 
above  its  results,  and  it  is  astonishing  how  many 
berries  even  the  invalids — a  large  number  of  the 
ladies  profess  to  be  invalids — can  consume,  but 


42  MY   GARDEN — ITS    LOCATION. 

they  regard  its  care  as  belonging  to  the  lower 
and  common  layers  of  humanity — in  brief,  to 
those  who  are  not  rich.  Gardeners,  like  dress- 
makers, add  much  to  their  well-being.  They 
are  useful  creatures,  like  cows  and  other  neces- 
sary animals.  I  have  had  stately  beings,  whose 
silks  might  help  maintain  their  equilibrium,  say 
to  me,  with  a  gracious  condescending  air,  "  Ah, 
Mr.  Roe,  ah,  you,  ah,  raise  magnificent  straw- 
berries. We  enjoy  them  extremely.  Good- 
evening,  sir  ;  "  and  I  am  dismissed  as  the  high- 
born dames  who  could  not  read,  in  olden  times 
waived  off,  with  a  passing  compliment,  some 
humble  poet  who  had  ventured  to  write  a  son- 
net in  their  honor.  What  higher  meed  could  I 
have  than  to  know  that  she,  robed  in  a  three- 
hundred-dollar  silk,  had  enjoyed  the  fruit  of  my 
labors  "  extremely."  But  I  was  so  oblivious  to 
greatness  as  to  find  a  check  at  the  hotel-office 
more  satisfactory. 


MY   GARDEN — ITS   LOCATION.  43 

In  fact,  I  have  been  led  to  believe  that  these 
gilded  creatures  are  not  aware  of  what  Horace 
and  Virgil  and  a  host  of  other  very  respectable 
people  have  said  about  gardening.  Indeed,  I 
am  not  sure  that  they  are  acquainted  with  the 
existence  of  those  two  worthy  gentlemen 
named.  Or  they  may  indulge  in  the  Darwin- 
ian theory,  and  instead  of  going  back  to  the 
first  gardener  for  pedigree,  hold  that  they  are 
descended  from  sundry  apes  and  oysters.  From 
the  mental,  moral,  and  physical  developments 
sometimes  manifested,  I  should  be  at  a  loss  to 
dispute  their  claims. 

But  while  the  above  is  true  of  many,  the  re- 
verse is  true  of  more,  and  I  am  fortunate  in  the 
location  of  my  garden  at  a  summer  resort,  for 
it  often  brings  me  in  contact  with  charming 
people,  who  have  spent  much  of  their  money  in 
the  culture  of  heart  and  brain,  and  not  alone  on 
things  that  they  and  their  horses  must  drag 


44  MY   GARDEN — ITS    LOCATION. 

around.  Who  does  not  despise  the  man  that 
invariably  reminds  you  of  his  wealth  rather  than 
himself?  Who  can  measure  the  contempt 
which  that  woman  inspires  who  invariably  se- 
cures attention  to  her  dress,  while  graces  of 
character  are  tardily,  if  ever,  discovered.  Such 
big,  showy,  useless  plants  are  called  weeds  in 
the  garden. 

But  there  are  wealthy  people  who  are  the 
most  skilful  of  alchemists,  and  refine  their 
money  into  books,  pictures,  and  intelligent 
travel,  and  thence,  by  a  mystic  process,  into 
the  golden  warp  and  woof  of  their  minds. 
Modest  diamonds  may  sparkle  on  their  persons, 
but  richer  gems  drop  from  their  mouths.  More 
truly,  they  are  like  the  fruits  in  my  garden, 
that  from  the  gross  abundance  and  materiality 
at  their  roots  select  with  delicate  precision 
and  exquisite  choice  that  which  makes  the 
melting  raspberry  and  luscious  grape.  Such 


MY    GARDEN ITS    LOCATION.  45 

people  do  not  despise  gardening,  but  rather  re- 
gard it  as  a  fine  art,  and  a  little  tasteful  pres- 
ent from  its  products  establishes  a  true  freema- 
sonry at  once.  Thus,  in  addition  to  all  other 
uses,  your  garden  teaches  you  human  nature 
and  enriches  you  with  friends. 

But  how  about  the  prospect  when  you  come 
to  the  garden  itself?  What  is  the  lay  of  the 
land  ?  It  is  a  wonder  that  some  of  it  lays  still 
at  all,  for  it  quite  approaches  a  perpendicular. 
Now,  I  doubt  not  but  that  many  of  my  readers 
have  been  imagining  a  smooth,  mellow  plot, 
sloping  gently  to  the  south-east,  as  all  orthodox 
gardens  should;  they  have  seen  a  rich  loamy 
soil  that  seeds  would  almost  sink  into  by  their 
own  weight.  They  may  have  been  coveting  a 
sunny,  favored  spot  where  the  curse,  that 
changed  Adam  from  a  gentleman  farmer  to  a 
hard-working  man,  is  suspended,  and  the  only 
trouble  being  to  keep  things  from  growing  too 


46  MY   GARDEN — ITS    LOCATION. 

fast  and  large.      I  wish   they  were   right,  but 
the  facts  are  against  them. 

Nearly  lialf  my  garden  is  down  hill  toward 
the  north,  and  some  of  it  at  an  angle  that  would 
soon  bring  one  to  China,  if  it  continued  far 
enough.  Not  a  little  of  it  is  a  high,  gravelly 
knoll,  on  which  only  certain  vegetables  that 
are  like  the  people  of  Vermont,  who  get  along 
anywhere,  will  grow.  Therefore,  my  garden 
is  a  sort  of  agricultural  paradox,  for  though 
it  is  mainly  down  hill,  it  demands  decidedly 
up-hill  work.  Still  lying  between  these  two 
northern  slopes  is  a  swale  of  most  excellent 
land,  and  here  I  have  accomplished  my  chief 
successes.  My  soil  has  one  great  advantage.  I 
can  get  to  work  on  it  as  soon  as  the  frost  is 
out,  and  even-  before.  I  have  put  in  early 
crops  where  the  plough  or  spade  turned  up 
frozen  lumps  of  earth  that  were  like  small 
boulders.  There  is  no  need  of  impatient 


MY   GARDEN — ITS    LOCATION.  47 

waiting  for  the  ground  to  dry  out.  As  a 
general  thing  it  does  that  only  too  fast.  In 
the  spring  of  '71  I  had  much  of  my  garden 
made  in  March,  for  after  heavy  rains  I  can 
cultivate  my  knolls  when  most  gardens  are 
in  a  swampy  condition. 

But  in  times  of  drought,  so  frequent  of 
late,  my  ground  suffers  extremely,  and  I 
have  had  blackberries  dry  to  seeds  upon  the 
vines,  beets  shrivel  into  little  fibrous,  leathery 
knobs,  and  even  the  hardy  tomato  droop  and 
faint,  ripening  fruit  that  hardly  made  a  mouth- 
ful. The  secret  of  my  success  lies  largely  in 
planting  my  crops  so  early  that  the  principal 
growth  is  made,  and  the  ground  shaded  before 
the  drought  and  heat  of  summer.  Yet,  as 
the  soil  is  new,  I  find  that  small  fruits, 
trees,  and  vines  do  finely,  whenever  the 
season  is  at  all  favorable ;  and  if  I  start  early, 
with  liberal  stimulus  of  manure,  I  can  gen- 


MY    GARDEN — ITS    LOCATION. 


erally  make  a  good  crop  of  vegetables.  Still, 
on  my  knolls  it  does  not  pay  to  plant  such 
kinds  as  require  a  moist,  loamy  soil,  and  I 
have  to  use  all  the  care  and  judgment  I  can 
to  overcome  this  tendency  to  excessive  dry- 
ness.  If  I  could  only  irrigate  my  garden  I 
could  make  it  a  greater  success ;  but  watering 
by  hand  is  too  slow  and  expensive  to  pay 
on  a  large  scale.  I  tried  it  pretty  thoroughly 
last  summer,  but  with  doubtful  success. 

One  other  fact  is  decidedly  in  my  favor : 
my  garden  is  so  near  the  river  that  the  air  is 
tempered  by  the  large  body  of  water.  In 
spring  and  autumn  we  are  exempt  from  frosts 
when  even  a  mile  or  two  back  they  are  quite 
severe.  I  can  thus  get  my  plants  started 
earlier,  and  enjoy  the  proceeds  of  lima  beans, 
tomatoes,  etc.,  later  than  many  near  neighbors. 

All  things  considered,  it  seems  to  me  that, 
as  far  as  location  is  concerned,  multitudes  could 


MY   GARDEN — ITS    LOCATION.  49 

start  in  a  position  as  favorable  as  my  own, 
and  many,  in  point  of  ground  and  exposure, 
would  be  much  more  favorably  situated.  I 
acknowledge  that  one  of  the  chief  elements  of 
success  is  a  good  market,  and  of  that  I  will 
speak  in  a  later  chapter.  As  respects  this 
also,  I  think  that  some  will  be  more  favorably 
situated  than  myself,  and  some  less  so. 


IV. 

MY  GARDEN— HOW  IT  GREW. 

A  PERSON  with  a  genuine  love  of  gardening 
is  like  sorrel,  aggressive  in  his  nature.  He  can- 
not see  a  nice  piece  of  ground  without  mentally 
plotting  it  out,  and  if  he  gets  a  chance  he  is  apt 
to  do  it  in  reality.  Old  King  Ahab  did  a  very 
mean  thing  even  for  him,  and  that  is  saying  a 
great  deal,  when  he  took  Naboth's  vineyard  ; 
but  after  all  it  was  only  a  gardener's  instinct 
perverted.  It  was  the  most  natural  thing  in  the 
world  that  he  should  want  the  good  mellow 
piece  of  ground  "which  was.  hard  by  the 
palace,  for  a  garden  of  herbs."  If  woman,  who 
got  a  gardener  in  trouble  before,  had  not 
stepped  in,  the  whole  thing  might  have  ended 


MY    GARDEN HOW    IT    GREW.  51 

in  a  fit  of  sulks,  and  the  greedy  old  cormorant 
planted  his  "  yarbs "  somewhere  else".  Not 
that  I  mean  to  run  any  close  parallel  between 
Ahab  and  myself,  or  intimate  that  my  agri- 
cultural domain  was  increased  by  such  tragic 
means  as  kings  and  queens  have  ever  been  fond 
of  using,  but  which  are  not  becoming  to  ordi- 
nary people.  The  process  by  which  my  garden 
expanded  from  the  sandy  knoll  by  the  parson- 
age, would  not  hurt  the  conscience  of  a  downy 
chicken.  But  the  reader  can  well  understand 
that  the  latter  patch  of  sand  and  gravel,  mostly 
in  deep  shade  at  that,  and  the  yard  that  I  could 
nearly  jump  across,  was  to  me  like  a  cage  to  a 
wild  bird — a  place  where  it  can  only  flutter,  not 
fly.  And  yet  even  this  small  area,  left  entirely 
to  my  own  care,  fared  sadly.  There  were  busy 
days  when  I  could  touch  no  garden  tool ;  but 
just  at  such  times  the  weeds  and  grass,  my  nat- 
ural enemies,  saw  their  opportunity,  it  would 


52  MY    GARDEN HOW    IT    GREW. 

seem,  and  made  the  most  of  it.  Not  only 
would  they  grow  with  undaunted  vigor  through 
the  noonday  heat,  when  my  vegetables  were 
wilting,  but  they  made  the  most  rapid  night 
marches.  In  consequence  I  would,  in  a  few 
days,  be  perfectly  aghast,  and  work  beyond  my 
strength  to  regain  lost  ground.  I  found  this 
would  not  answer ;  so  I  employed  a  worthy 
German,  by  name  of  Breakbill,  to  supplement 
my  labors,  but  soon  found  that  his  bill  would 
break  me,  for  the  provident  Teuton  naturally 
reasoned  that  a  job  in  a  small  garden,  like  a 
small  baby,  needed  much  nursing.  Unless  he 
used  great  precaution  he  would  hoe  a  short  row 
through  unprofitably  quick.  I  soon  found  that 
at  this  rate  the  market  would  be  the  cheapest 
place  for  vegetables,  and  those  sent  from  New 
York  were  scarcely  less  wilted  than  such  as  I 
could  raise  in  my  hot  sand. 

But  the    fire    burned    and    smouldered,  and 


MY    GARDEN — HOW    IT    GREW.  53 

must  break  out  somewhere.  A  little  incident, 
about  midsummer,  added  fuel  to  the  flame.  I 
had  several  strawberries  of  my  own,  (I  think 
there  were  enough  to  justify  the  plural  number,) 
during  the  first  season,  but  after  my  home  ex- 
perience I  naturally  wanted  a  few  more.  So  I 
made  arrangements  with  a  neighboring  gar- 
dener to  supply  me.  We  had  a  small  dish  once 
for  supper,  and  I  took  some  to  the  sick  a  few 
times,  and  then  had  my  bill.  "  Seven  dollars 
and  a  half !  "  We  might  as  well  indulge  in 
rubies  by  the  quart.  We  all  professed  that  we 
had  lost  our  taste  for  strawberries.  They  are 
said  to  contain  much  iron  and  to  be  a  great 
tonic,  but  those  we  had  seemed  impregnated 
with  all  the  precious  metals,  and  to  be  very  de- 
pleting. 

But  I  was  growing  a  thought,  if  not  straw- 
berries, and  it  finally  fruited  in  this  resolve  :  I 
will  have  a  larger  garden  and  a  gardener,  and 


54  MY   GARDEN — HOW   IT   GREW. 

make  them  pay  their  own  way.  Then,  while  I 
am  writing  a  sermon  or  making  calls,  the  pestif- 
erous weeds  will  not  steal  a  march  on  me.  I 
will  have  a  rough  and  ready  lieutenant,  who  will 
carry  on  an  active  campaign  unceasingly,  with 
hoe  and  fork,  while  I  often  retire  to  the  shade  to 
provide  the  strategy.  I  find  that  a  good  deal 
of  strategy  is  necessary,  especially  in  hot 
weather. 

Now,  my  Naboth,  whose  vineyard  is  hard  by 
the  parsonage,  was  a  most  worthy  old  gentle- 
man that  has  proved  a  friend  indeed.  So  far 
from  looking  upon  him  with  an  evil  eye,  or 
meditating  against  him  deadly  designs,  I  would 
gladly  give  him  a  lease  of  life  for  nine  hundred 
and  ninety-nine  years.  He  lives  right  on  the 
edge  of  the  bluff  overhanging  the  river,  and 
from  his  front  piazza  has  one  of  the  finest 
views  in  America.  Between  his  house  and 
the  parsonage  lies  the  coveted  field,  and 


MY   GARDEN — HOW   IT   GREW.  55 

gradually  my  garden  has  crept  across  it,  till 
some  good  souls,  prone  to  see  a  dark  and  tragic 
ending  to  most  events,  have  intimated  that  it 
would  finally  push  my  kindly  landlord  over  the 
bluff  into  the  river.  But  though  I  would  like 
two  or  three  more  acres  to  develop  my  plans  and 
theories,  as  well  as  fruits  and  vegetables,  I  can 
yet  assure  the  reader  that  with  the  fate  of  Ahab 
before  my  eyes,  I  am  as  law-abiding  a  citizen  as 
any  in  my  parish. 

But  no  tragic  means  were  necessary  for  the 
gradual  extension  of  my  garden  from  the  shaded 
knoll  described  to  its  present  proportions,  for 
my  obliging  neighbor  kindly  staked  off  about 
half  an  acre,  and  that  was  my  garden  in  '67. 
Part  of  this  ground  was  an  apple  orchard,  and  in 
such  dense  shade  that  not  even  currants  would 
mature  ;  but  the  majority  of  it  had  a  very  good 
exposure,  and  has  contained  some  of  my  best 
land  ever  since.  When  I  took  it  the  soil  was  in 


56  MY   GARDEN — HOW   IT   GREW. 

a  -tolerably  fair  condition  for  corn  and  potatoes, 
but  according  to  Henderson,  and  I  soon  found, 
experience  also,  in  no  state  for  a  garden.  It 
was  very  stony,  and  all  the  finer  and  more  val- 
uable vegetables  made  slow  growth  upon  it. 
After  it  was  once  ploughed  and  planted  I  did 
nothing  more  with  a  horse,  not  having  any,  but 
all  was  handiwork. 

From  my  easy-going,  deliberate  Teuton  I 
went  to  the  other  extreme,  and  obtained  a  chol- 
eric Dutchman,  who  was  a  perfect  steam-engine 
at  work.  But  he  was  touchy  as  gunpowder, 
and  I  had  to  walk  around  my  own  garden  most 
circumspectly.  If  he  started  off  rightly  he  ac- 
complished wonders  ;  but  if  wrong,  there  seemed 
even  greater  energy  ;  and  how  to  stop  him  and 
correct  matters  without  a  grand  explosion  was 
a  knotty  and  delicate  problem.  He  was  not  a 
gardener  by  profession,  but  accustomed  to  work 
alone  at  employment  devoid  of  all  the  little 


MY   GARDEN — HOW   IT   GREW.  57 

details  that  now  constantly  came  up.  But  we 
jogged  along  after  a  fashion  till  the  busy  season 
was  over,  and  then  a  stout,  young  boy  and  my- 
self carried  forward  operations  alone.  That 
summer  I  sold  from  my  garden  three  hundred 
and  fifty-five  dollars'  worth  of  vegetables  and 
fruit.  I  will  refer  to  expenses  in  another  chap- 
ter, as  I  scarcely  dare  speak  of  them  ypt.  In 
addition,  our  table  was  supplied  on  a  very 
different  scale  from  the  preceding  year. 

I  resolved,  however,  that  I  would  not  be  tyr- 
annized over  in  my  own  garden,  and  deter- 
mined to  be  autocrat  there  myself  in  the  future. 
I  was  an  amateur,  and  fond  of  all  sorts  of  experi- 
ments and  original  methods ;  and  even  when 
having  my  own  way  would  spoil  anything,  I 
wanted  it  spoiled  just  to  suit  me,  and  no  words 
about  it.  The  garden,  of  all  places,  is  the  place 
of  peace,  where  the  true  mystical  heart's-ease 
should  grow.  But  there  could  be  no  peace  in 


58  MY  GARDEN — HOW   IT   GREW. 

my  garden  unless  I  had  my  own  way,  and 
nobody  else  his — for  a  garden,  like  an  aspara- 
gus shoot,  requires  but  one  head,  and  any  kind 
of  a  head  is  better  than  a  set  of  scraggly 
branches.  I  determined  to  have  no  professional 
or  gunpowder  people  in  my  garden  another  year, 
and  if  there  was  any  "  blowing  up  "  to  be  done, 
to  reserve  that  privilege  to  myself. 

I  made  many  blunders,  and  often  worked  to 
poor  advantage.  I  planted  varieties  of  vege- 
tables and  fruits  that  were  decidedly  inferior.  In 
not  a  few  instances  I  utterly  lost  crops,  and  oth- 
ers did  not  pay  a  tithe  of  the  expense,  but  all 
the  while  there  was  a  most  profitable  growth 
of  experience  in  addition  to  healthful  exercise 
and  much  enjoyment.  My  family  were  no  lon- 
ger dependent  on  New  York  markets. 

In  the  spring  of  '68  little  over  half  an  acre 
was  added  to  my  garden,  I  can  only  give  a 
pretty  close  approximation  now,  as  the  old  lines 


MY    GARDEN HOW    IT    GREW.  59 

of  demarcation  are  obliterated.  Early  in  March 
the  kindly  power  that  presides  over  gardeners 
sent  me  a  helper  somewhat  to  my  taste — an 
intelligent  Irishman  "just  over."  His  sister 
was  one  of  our  "  help,"  and  he  had  a  temporary 
situation  near.  Changes  occurring  threw  him 
out  of  employment,  and  soon  after  he  was 
brought  to  our  house  in  a  critical  state,  from  a 
sudden  and  severe  attack  of  illness.  Of  course, 
simple  humanity  required  that  he  should  be 
taken  care  of,  and  when  he  got  better  he  com- 
menced doing  little  things  around  to  show  his 
good-will.  He  was  very  grateful,  willing  to  be 
told,  strong  and  able  to  work,  though  knowing 
next  to  nothing  about  the  management  of  a 
garden.  "Here's  a  man,"  I  thought,  "who 
will  plant  lima  beans  a  foot  deep,  if  I  tell  him 
to  ;  "  and  by  the  time  spring  fairly  opened  he 
was  my  gardener,  and  is  with  me  still.  But  he 
plants  lima  beans  now  half  an  inch,  deep  without 


60  MY   GARDEN — HOW   IT   GREW. 

telling,  and  does  not  poke  them  back  in  the 
ground  when  they  first  appear  to  pop  out,  as  he 
was  inclined  to  do  at  first.  He  has  become  one 
of  the  solid  citizens,  with  a  goodly  bank  account. 
The  young  boy  to  whom  I  have  referred,  also 
proved  a  treasure,  and  stayed  with  me  till  the 
fall  of  7 1. 

I  cultivated  this  season  about  an  acre,  and  my 
sales  rose  to  seven  hundred  and  sixty-three  dol- 
lars and  thirty-six  cents. 

It  began  to  dawn  on  me  that  fruit  paid  better 
than  vegetables,  and  I  steadily  increased  the 
area  given  to  its  cultivation.  During  that  fall 
I  invested  about  one  hundred  dollars  in  rasp- 
berry and  blackberry  plants.  If  I  had  waited 
till  the  following  spring  I  suppose  I  could  have 
bought  the  same  plants  for  thirty  dollars. 

In  the  spring  of  '69  my  garden  reached  its 
full  dimensions  of  two  and  a  quarter  acres.  My 
sales  ran  up  to  one  thousand  three  hundred  and 


MY    GARDEN — HOW   IT   GREW.  6 1 

eighty-two  dollars  and  eighty-four  cents.  But 
that  these  figures  may  not  mislead,  I  am  bound 
to  confess  that  expenses  thus  far  fully  kept  pace. 
I  see  now  that  they  were  larger  than  they 
need  to  have  been,  but  will  explain  farther  on. 
Much  of  my  ground  was  very  stony,  cold,  and 
soddy,  and  not  in  sufficiently  good  heat  to  pro- 
duce large  crops  of  anything.  I  put  on  great 
quantities  of  green  and  unrotted  manure,  but  as 
the  season  proved  dry  it  was  almost  a  detriment, 
and  did  not  improve  the  land  as  it  would  if  the 
summer  had  been  moist.  Many  of  my  crops 
did  not  return  their  cost,  and  were  of  a  kind 
that  do  not  pay  in  such  a  garden  as  mine.  ' 

I  kept  setting  out  fruit,  though  not  nearly  as 
rapidly  as  I  ought.  If  I  had  from  the  first  put 
two-thirds  of  my  ground  in  strawberries  and 
raspberries,  and  used  my  fertilizers  on  them,  in- 
stead of  sweet  corn,  peas,  and  potatoes,  my  gar- 
den would  have  told  a  very  much  better  story. 


62  MY   GARDEN — HOW   IT   GREW. 

Undaunted  by  the  summing  up  of  the  year's 
results,  I  went  into  the  campaign  of  1870  with 
renewed  zest,  hoping  to  make  a  wide  and  favor- 
able margin  in  the  debit  and  credit  sides  of  my 
balance-sheet. 

But  the  season  proved  one  of  unparalleled 
drought  in  our  vicinity,  while  along  the  coast 
and  about  New  York  showers  were  abundant. 
New  York  vegetables  were,  therefore,  fine,  and 
our  own  poor.  Berries  dried  upon  the  vines. 
Most  of  my  cabbages  perished  from  the  club- 
foot,  and  the  results  fell  short  of  what  I  hoped ; 
and  yet,  under  the  circumstances,  they  were 
large,  due  to  the  fact  that  my  fruit  was  coming 
into  bearing. 

My  sales  in  '70  reached  one  thousand  four 
hundred  and  ninety-six  dollars  and  eighty-five 
cents. 

Then  dawned  '71,  in  which  I  had  abundant 
reward.  Though  my  fruit  had  not  made  the 


MY   GARDEN — HOW   IT   GREW.  63 

growth  I  had  hoped  on  account  of  the  drought, 
still  I  had  a  greater  breadth  in  bearing ;  the 
season,  all  things  considered,  was  much  more 
favorable. 

The  grand  total,  Dec.  31,  was  two  thousand 
and  eleven  dollars  and  sixty-nine  cents. 


V. 

MY     GARDEN— WHAT     FRUITS     WERE      CULTI- 
VATED. 

MY  readers  will  naturally  suppose  that  the 
two  and  a  quarter  acres  that  produced  two 
thousand  dollars  in  one  summer  are  not  the 
bare,  stony  field  I  found  it ;  nor  would  they 
be  mistaken.  A  more  luxuriant  plot  of 
ground  about  June  3Oth  could  hardly  be 
found.  Everything  there  is  in  the  strength 
of  its  youth  or  maturity,  and  the  impres- 
sion of  superabundant  vitality  is  given.  Rasp- 
berries and  blackberries  toss  their  forming  and 
ripening  fruit  high  above  my  head,  and  the  boys 
picking  are  utterly  lost  to  view,  save  where 
they  mount  a  box  to  reach  the  topmost  sprays. 
The  bean-poles  are  no  longer  gaunt  and  bare, 


MY   GARDEN — WHAT   FRUITS   WERE    CULTIVATED.    65 

but  slender  cones  of  green.  The  season  is  at 
its  height,  and  the  withering  breath  of  hot  July 
has  not  shrivelled  a  leaf.  At  this  season  you 
would  think  there  was  a  great  deal  in  my  gar- 
den. 

In  the  first  place  there  are  sixteen  large  ap- 
ple-trees, and  though  my  garden  is  a  grand 
thing  for  them,  they  having  improved  greatly 
since  the  ground  has  been  brought  into  a  high 
state  of  cultivation,  their  shade  is  mainly  lost 
space.  Some  of  my  boys  also  find  more  to  do 
under  them  than  where  the  sun  shines.  I  do 
not  know  whether  all  trees  would  have  the  same 
effect,  or  whether  from  the  first  there  has  been 
some  mysterious  attraction  about  the  apple- 
tree.  Between  the  fruit  on  them,  though  green 
and  bitter  in  its  immaturity,  and  the  shade  un- 
der them,  they  have  a  tempting  power  that  few 
in  my  garden  resist  at  all  times,  while  sundry 

idle  urchins,  picked  up  in  the  streets  and  put  to 
5 


66    MY   GARDEN — WHAT   FRUITS   WERE    CULTIVATED. 

weeding,  are  drawn  to  them  with  the  certainty 
of  gravitation ;  and  the  centrifugal  force  re- 
quired to  keep  them  out  among  the  vegetables 
is  nearly  as  exhaustive  as  doing  the  weeding 
one's  self.  I  use  the  shaded  ground  however 
for  composts,  preparing  fruits  and  vegetables  for 
market,  and  have  lately  occupied  quite  a  por- 
tion of  it  as  a  chicken  yard.  Though  the  fruit 
belongs  to  my  good  landlord,  he  is  very  gener- 
ous with  it,  and  I  was  glad  to  get  the  ground 
with  so  slight  a  drawback.  But  no  apples  have 
entered  into  my  sales. 

In  the  next  place  I  had  three  rows  of  cherry 
currants,  ninety-three  feet  long,  and  one  row  of 
forty-eight  feet.  Besides  these  there  were  a 
number  of  small  plants  that  have  since  com- 
menced fruiting,  and  about  twenty-five  bushes 
of  the  old  common  kind.  Nearly  all  are  young 
and  not  very  large  as  yet,  and  altogether  not 
over  ninety  are  bearing,  some  producing  but 


MY   GARDEN — WHAT   FRUITS   WERE    CULTIVATED.    6^ 

a  few  handfuls.  But  my  journal  shows  that 
from  this  modest  plantation  of  currants  four 
bushels  and  four  quarts  were  sold  during  the 
season,  bringing  nineteen  dollars  and  thirteen 
cents.  In  addition  we  used  not  a  few  our- 
selves, and  some  were  given  away.  The 
most  of  these  bushes  were  raised  from  cut- 
tings, the  manner  of  which  will  be  explained 
farther  on.  Any  one  who  has  enjoyed  the 
cherry-currant  with  berries  two  or  three  times 
the  size  of  the  old  common  kind,  will  acknowl- 
edge that  they  are  a  beautiful  and  delicious  fruit ; 
yet  a  bush  will  take  up  no  more  room  than  a 
full-sized  burdock,  such  as  I  have  seen  orna- 
menting many  a  back-yard,  and  occasionally 
flaunting  in  front  of  some  shiftless  farmer's 
door ;  and  it  will  grow  about  as  easily,  as  we 
hope  to  show  in  the  following  pages. 

"Among  my  currants    I    have    another   old- 
fashioned     friend,     which,    though     somewhat 


68    MY    GARDEN — WHAT    FRUITS    WERE    CULTIVATED. 

soured  and  thorny  in  character,  nevertheless 
has  its  good  points,  and  is  well  deserving  of 
the  limited  attention  it  requires.  I  refer  to  the 
gooseberry,  dear  to,  the  memory  from  the  innu- 
merable tarts  and  pies  it  furnished  for  our 
dinner  basket  in  school-days.  Its  propagation 
and  culture  are  as  simple  as  those  of  the  cur- 
rant ;  so  men  who  are  without  gooseberries  are 
without  excuse.  I  have  twenty-three  bushes, 
and  from  these  two  bushels  and  twenty-two 
quarts  were  sold  for  eleven  dollars  and  sixty- 
three  cents,  and  sundry  quarts  disappeared  in 
other  ways. 

But  even  these  hardy  fruits  could  not  stand 
the  severe  open  winter  of  '71-2,  and  the  bushes 
were  so  much  injured  that  there  was  but  little 
more  than  half  a  crop  of  currants,  and  not 
over  half  a  bushel  of  gooseberries  were  picked 
altogether.  Thus  the  receipts  in  '72  from  the 
currants  fell  off  ten  dollars  and  forty-one  cents 


MY    GARDEN WHAT    FRUITS    WERE    CULTIVATED.    69 

from  those  of  the  previous  season,  and  the 
gooseberries  scarcely  returned  anything. 

There  are  fluctuations  in  the  garden  as  truly 
as  in  Wall  Street,  as  the  following  pages  will 
prove.  Only  in  the  garden  honest  industry  is 
the  trait  that  success  crowns  in  the  long  run, 
while  in  Wall  Street,  it  would  seem  that  a  men- 
tal "  sleight-of-hand"  secures  the  prize. 

We  next  pass  on  to  what  some  writer  calls 
the  "  finest  fruit  God  ever  made,"  the  straw- 
berry. It  is  indeed  a  divine  alchemy  that  can 
transform  clay  and  water  into  the  luscious 
Triomphe  de  Gand,  the  sprightly  Wilson's 
Seedling,  and  the  aromatic  Lenig's  White. 
Little  wonder  that  we  look  anxiously  at  our 
beds  in  March  and  April  to  see  how  the  plants 
have  "wintered."  With  justifiable  solicitude 
and  joy  we  watch  them  throwing  up  their  new 
green  foliage  in  April,  and  in  May  becoming 
such  a  mass  of  bloom  that  it  would  seem  a 


70    MY   GARDEN — WHAT    FRUITS    WERE    CULTIVATED. 

flurry  of  snow  had  passed  over  the  bed.  At 
last,  when  the  June  rose,  "the  queen  of 
flowers,"  resumes  its  sweet  dominion  over  our 
senses,  the  strawberry  stands  nearest  the  throne 
in  Nature's  realm. 

Passing  from  the  strawberry  as  a  thing  of 
"  beauty  and  a  joy  forever"  (I  am  sure  some 
varieties  will  "  flourish"  in  the  "  New  Earth  "), 
to  the  strawberry  as  a  "  crop,"  may  seem  to 
some  fair  readers  a  letting  down,  and  yet  it  is 
upon  the  practical  phase  that  I  propose  to 
dwell.  In  '71  I  had  about  five-eighths  of  an 
acre  in  bearing,  and  from  this  area  sold  fifty- 
seven  bushels  and  two  quarts.  In  addition 
how  many  the  boys  ate  in  picking,  how  many 
my  own  children  devoured  in  their  innumerable 
raids,  how  many  were  given  away,  I  have  no 
means  of  accurately  computing.  We  also  used 
them  like  water  upon  our  table,  fifteen  quarts 
finding  a  home  market  during  one  day. 


MY   GARDEN — WHAT   FRUITS   WERE    CULTIVATED.    71 

Again,  the  beds  were  scattered  all  over  the 
garden,  and  in  looking  after  this,  and  strolling 
around  it,  I  had  to  pass  them  continually ;  and 
surely  the  gloomiest  ascetic  could  not  resist 
their  alluring  red  cheeks,  as  half-hidden,  like 
coy  beauties,  they  peeped  out  from  the  partial 
shade  of  the  leaves.  If  all  eaten  during  the 
season  in  this  promiscuous  manner  were  placed 
in  one  pile,  I  fear  my  friends  would  regard 
me  with  something  of  the  same  wonder  that 
Goldsmith's  rustics  had  for  their  pedagogue's 
head. 

The  birds,  too,  proved  arrant  thieves.  From 
the  sedate  robins  and  demure  little  wrens  to 
the  saucy  cedar-birds,  with  their  jaunty  red 
topknots,  it  was  all  the  same.  From  the  time 
the  berries  reddened,  like  the  Great  Reformer, 
they  all  turned  their  backs  on  the  "  diet  of 
worms,"  and,  though  their  crops  were  greatly 
increased,  my  crop  was  sensibly  diminished. 


72    MY   GARDEN — WHAT   FRUITS   WERE    CULTIVATED. 

But  in  memory  of  certain  predatory  incursions 
of  my  own  upon  strawberry-beds  in  the  past, 
I  felt  impelled  to  charity.  I  believe,  also, 
that  birds  and  bugs  have  certain  vested  rights 
from  Nature  that  no  arbitrary  civilization  should 
wrest  from  them.  It  is  only  when  they  take 
more  than  their  share  that  we  should  commence 
"proceedings  "  against  them. 

But  with  all  these  abstractions  and  without 
reckoning  what  was  consumed  in  the  miscella- 
neous ways  mentioned,  the  above-named  quan- 
tity sold  for  the  good  round  sum  of  five  hun- 
dred and  eighty-nine  dollars  and  sixty-five  cents. 

The  next  fruit  in  the  order  of  ripening  be- 
longs to  the  raspberry  family,  and  is  familiarly 
known  as  the  Blackcap.  I  have  cultivated  with 
success  three  varieties :  the  Davidson's  Thorn- 
less,  the  Mammoth  Cluster,  and  the  Doolittle, 
and  find  the  Doolittles  do  the  most  of  any  of 
them. 


MY   GARDEN — WHAT   FRUITS   WERE    CULTIVATED.    73 

These  berries  are  simply  improvements  of  the 
wild  Blackcap  of  the  woods,  and  I  have  seen 
growing  in  damp  and  favored  spots  as  fine  fruit 
as  any  borne  by  my  cultivated  varieties.  With 
those  who  pride  themselves  on  the  pearl  of  their 
teeth  and  the  coral  of  their  lips,  the  Blackcap 
will  never  be  a  favorite  ;  but  to  us  plain  people 
it  has  been  an  old  friend  from  the  time  its  pur- 
ple blood  smeared  our  faces,  clothes,  and  din- 
ner-baskets, and  its  brambles  added  largely  to 
the  weekly  mending. 

The  Davidson's  Thornless  is  a  variety  free 
from  sharp  spines,  and  its  fruit  ripens  a  week 
earlier  than  that  of  the  Doolittle,  and  therefore 
is  deserving  of  a  place  in  the  garden.  The 
Mammoth  Cluster  matures  the  last  of  all,  so  that 
by  planting  the  three  varieties  named,  the  sea- 
son of  Blackcaps  can  be  extended  almost  three 
times  as  long  as  if  only  one  kind  were  cultivated. 
This  extension  could  be  considerably  increased 


74    MY    GARDEN WHAT    FRUITS    WERE    CULTIVATED. 

by  a  judicious  selection  of  soil  and  exposure. 
Place  the  Davidson's  Thornless  in  a  warm,  sunny 
spot  with  a  light  soil,  the  Doolittles  in  the  open 
garden,  and  the  Mammoth  Cluster  in  a  cool, 
moist,  and  somewhat  shaded  position,  and  the 
canny  cultivator  has  Blackcaps  for  a  month,  in- 
stead of  merely  little  over  a  week,  by  the  growth 
of  only  one  variety. 

I  had  in  bearing  in  '71,  one  row  of  the  Thorn- 
less,  one  hundred  and  eighty  feet  long;  three 
rows  of  the  Doolittles,  one  hundred  and  eighty- 
five  feet  long ;  and  two  rows  of  the  Mammoth 
Clusters,  one  hundred  and  seventy-six  feet 
long ;  also  a  row  of  one  hundred  feet  of  the 
wild  Blackcaps  of  the  Avoods,  which  I  have 
since  dug  up  and  thrown  away.  There  were 
also  some  bushes  of  the  Seneca  and  Miami 
varieties,  which  not  doing  very  well  with  me, 
shared  the  same  fate.  From  these  seven  rows 
and  a  few  scattered  bushes  besides,  fourteen 


MY   GARDEN — WHAT   FRUITS   WERE    CULTIVATED.    75 

bushels  and  twenty-three  quarts  were  sold  for 
the  sum  of  one  hundred  and  eight  dollars  and 
forty-seven  cents.  There  was  also  the  same 
unstinted  use  of  them  for  preserving  and  the 
table  in  the  family,  and  the  same  promiscuous 
filling  of  mouths  at  all  times  and  seasons ;  for 
who,  brought  up  in  the  country,  could  pass  a 
Blackcap  bush,  purple  with  fruit,  and  keep  his 
hands  in  his  pockets  ? 


VI. 

MY      GARDEN — WHAT      FRUITS     WERE     CULTI- 
VATED— CONTINUED . 

WE  next  come  to  the  delicate  raspberries  that 
melt  on  your  tongue  like  a  snowflake  ;  picked 
in  hot  July  with  the  cool  morning  dew  upon 
them,  what  could  be  as  refreshing  ?  The  old 
heathen  knew  enough  to  cultivate  them  fourteen 
centuries  ago,  while  now  many  a  Christian  farmer 
"can't  bother  with  them,"  and  regales  his  wife 
and  daughters  mainly  on  corn,  potatoes,  and  pork. 
With  very  many  in  the  country  these  delicious 
small  fruits  are  as  neglected  as  the  means  of  grace. 
Man  is  a  queer  animal  to  boast  of  reason  ;  for,  go 
the  world  over,  God's  best  gifts  are  generally  the 
most  slighted.  There  is  not  a  farmer  but  might 


MY   GARDEN WHAT    FRUITS    WERE    CULTIVATED.     77 

have  a  bowl  of  raspberries  and  milk  for  break- 
fast every  day  in  July.  There  is  not  a  family 
controlling  twelve  square  feet  of  ground  but 
could  grace  their  tea-table  with  the  chief  deli- 
cacy of  the  season.  People  who  often  make 
long  expeditions  through  the  fields,  trampling 
down  their  neighbors'  grass  and  grain,  to  obtain 
a  few  quarts  of  inferior  fruit,  might  have  an 
abundant  daily  supply  within  twenty  feet  of  the 
kitchen-door.  The  ladies  should  take  the  mat- 
ter of  small  fruits  in  hand  themselves.  With  a 
tithe  of  the  attention  they  give  to  their  back 
hair,  they  could  secure  from  husbands,  and  those 
who  might  become  such,  quite  as  much  admira- 
tion, by  placing  before  the  lordly  animal  a  dish 
that  might  even  tempt  a  spirit  of  the  air.  (Met- 
aphysicians have  found  the  heart  and  stomach 
nearer  together  than  the  physiologists.)  For 
the  encouragement  of  those  who  nurse  a  gera- 
nium or  monthly  rose  through  the  season,  it  can 


78    MY   GARDEN — WHAT   FRUITS    WERE    CULTIVATED. 

be  stated  that  a  few  hills  of  hardy  raspberries 
would  not  require  half  the  care. 

My  plantation  consisted  of  two  rows,  one 
hundred  and  thirteen  feet  long,  of  white  and 
red,  that  by  some  mistake  got  mixed  when 
first  set  out ;  four  rows  of  White  Antwerp, 
ninety-two  feet  long ;  two  rows  of  Clark  rasp- 
berry, two  hundred  and  twenty  feet  in  length  ; 
five  rows  of  the  same,  of  one  hundred  and 
eighty-one  feet ;  and  one  of  ninety  feet.  Of 
the  Philadelphia  variety  I  have  three  rows  of 
two  hundred  and  twenty  feet  and  two  of  .one 
hundred  and  eighty-four  feet.  In  addition,  there 
were  four  rows  of  the  Franconia,  one  hundred 
and  twenty-five  feet  long,  and  four  of  the  Hud- 
son River  Antwerp  of  the  same  length.  The 
plants  of  the  two  last-named  varieties  were 
young,  and  not  in  full  bearing.  There  were 
also  quite  a  large  number  of  scattered  bushes 
of  the  old  purple  cane  variety,  but  most  of 


MY    GARDEN WHAT    FRUITS    WERE    CULTIVATED.     79 

these  I  had  swept  away.  The  fruit  is  so 
small,  soft,  and  liable  to  drop  off,  that  it  is 
scarcely  profitable. 

From  the  plants  above  named  I  sold  thirty- 
six  bushels  and  nineteen  quarts,  receiving  three 
hundred  and  forty-three  dollars  and  eighty-two 
cents. 

In  addition  to  preserving  and  using  them  ad 
libitum,  as  with  the  other  fruits,  very  many 
dropped  from  the  vines  and  were  lost.  During 
the  height  of  the  season  they  ripened  so  rapidly 
that  it  seemed  impossible  to  keep  up  with  them  ; 
and  after  some  of  the  intensely  hot  nights  and 
days  in  July,  every  bush  would  be  red  with  the 
ripe  fruit ;  and  then,  before  they  could  be  picked 
in  many  instances,  the  ground  would  be  red  also, 
and  I  usually  noticed  that  the  mouths  of  the 
pickers  were  redder  still.  But  I  have  learned 
to  go  on  the  principle  that  a  boy  must  get  his 
own  basket  full  before  he  will  zealously  begin  to 


80    MY   GARDEN WHAT   FRUITS    WERE    CULTIVATED. 

fill  mine,  and  this  well-established  fact  must  en- 
ter into  the  grower's  calculations. 

During  the  year  '72,  the  receipts  from  the 
Blackcaps  and  red  raspberries  were  not  kept 
separate,  and  I  can  only  give  the  aggregate  of 
both,  which  was  fifty-four  bushels  and  seven 
quarts,  selling  for  five  hundred  and  seven  dol- 
lars, this  being  a  slight  advance  on  the  previous 
year. 

The  last  small  fruit  of  the  summer  I  consider 
a  truly  noble  one. 

If  I  have  a  weakness  for  anything  that  comes 
out  of  the  garden,  it  is  the  Kittatinny  black- 
berry, when  fully  ripe.  The  majority  in  our 
cities  hardly  know  the  real  taste  of  this  fruit 
for  two  reasons.  First,  the  berry  is  black  be- 
fore it  is  ripe,  and  is  picked  a  day  in  advance  of 
its  true  perfection  ;  and  in  the  second,  if  it  is  to 
be  sent  any  distance,  it  is  too  soft  in  its  fully 
matured  state  to  bear  carriage. 


MY   GARDEN WHAT   FRUITS   WERE    CULTIVATED.    8 1 

"No,  sir;  I  do  not  like  blackberries,  with 
their  hard  bitter  core,"  said  a  city  lady  to  me 
very  decidedly.  She  would  hardly  like  a 
winter  pippin  in  October.  But  a  Kittatinny 
or  a  Lawton  blackberry  fully  ripe  will  dis- 
solve in  one's  mouth  like  so  much  syllabub  ; 
and  to  the  majority  it  is  the  most  wholesome 
of  fruits. 

In  our  latitude  it  is  very  uncertain,  being  like 
many  people  who  develop  wonderfully  under 
encouraging  warmth,  but  cannot  endure  cold- 
ness. 

From  the  abundance  and  stockiness  of  the 
branching  canes  you  felicitate  yourself  on  the 
marvellous  crop  the  following  season  ;  but  when 
spring  comes  you  may  find  them  hard  and  dry 
enough  for  pea-brush,  requiring  a  double  padded 
buckskin  glove  to  handle  them.  If  they  could 
only  be  laid  down,  buried,  and  thus  protected 

like  the  raspberry,  I  think  it  would  pay  in  some 
6 


82    MY   GARDEN — WHAT   FRUITS   WERE   CULTIVATED. 

localities  ;  but  all  the  varieties  I  have  seen,  ex- 
cept the  Wilson,  grow  as  stout  and  stocky  as 
young  oaks,  and  will  bend  as  easily. 

My  plantation  consisted  of  three  rows  of 
Kittatinny  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  long,  two 
rows  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  feet  long, 
and  one  row  of  two  hundred  and  fifty-eight 
feet.  I  also  had  two  rows  of  the  Lawtons  one 
hundred  and  sixteen  feet  long,  and  five  rows  of 
the  Wilson  variety  one  hundred  and  seventy- 
five  feet  in  length,  and  a  few  additional 
bushes  along  the  garden  fence.  The  vines 
were  young  and  not  in  full  bearing,  and  yet 
my  sales  amounted  to  fifteen  bushels  and 
twenty-six  quarts,  realizing  one  hundred  and 
fifty- two  dollars  and  eight  cents.  At  the  same 
time  there  was  a  magnificent  growth  of  canes 
for  bearing  in  '72,  justifying  the  anticipation  of 
double  the  crop  named.  But  we  had  no  snow 
of  any  consequence  in  the  winter  of  '71-2,  and 


MY    GARDEN WHAT   FRUITS    WERE    CULTIVATED.    83 

March,  the  most  trying  month  of  the  year  in 
the  garden,  was  unusually  severe  and  late,  so 
that  the  vines  without  any  protection  nearly 
all  died.  Twenty-seven  quarts,  selling  for 
eight  dollars  and  thirty  cents,  were  the  meagre 
results.  In  a  small  garden  and  for  family  use  it 
certainly  would  pay  to  protect  the  canes  in  the 
winter,  and  farther  on  we  hope  to  discuss  this 
matter  more  fully.  With  the  Wilson  variety 
there  would  be  no  great  difficulty  in  doing  this, 
if,  as  with  me,  it  always  grows  in  a  slender,  trail- 
ing fashion. 

The  remaining  fruit  of  my  garden  from  which 
I  reaped  an  income  in  '71  is  the  historical  and 
poetical  product  of  the  vine — better,  I  am 
obliged  to  confess,  in  poetry  and  history,  than 
in  reality  with  me.  In  our  soil  and  latitude  the 
raising  of  first-class  grapes  is  a  fine  art  to  which 
I  have  not  attained.  And  yet  I  believe  it  can 
be  done — indeed  it  has  been  done,  as  Mr. 


84    MY    GARDEN — WHAT    FRUITS    WERE    CULTIVATED. 

Rickets,  of  Newburgh,  Mr.  Ferris,  of  Pough- 
keepsie,  and  others  prove  annually.  And  a 
very  small  city  lot  owned  by  an  eminent  physi- 
cian of  the  first-named  town  would  also  make 
an  interesting  study  to  many  who  require  a 
several-acre  sphere  in  which  to  develop  their 
incompetency.  I  should  be  prejudiced  in  fa- 
vor of  a  doctor  who  could  deal  so  deftly  with 
Nature,  for  however  it  may  be  in  theology,  in 
the  garden  and  sick-room  one  must  not  fight 
her.  True  skill  consists  in  knowing  just  how  to 
further  and  quicken  her  impulses  in  accordance 
with  her  own  moods,  or  laws,  as  a  philosopher 

would  put  it.     Perhaps  there  is  scarcely  a  fruit 

/ 
in  which  culture  makes  so  great  a  difference  as 

the  grape.  Any  one  can  raise  vines  and  leaves, 
but  if  you  are  not  careful,  they  are  the  main  crop. 
In  no  department  have  I  made  so  many  blun- 
ders as  with  my  grapes ;  but  if  misery  loves 
company,  I  have  plenty  of  it. 


MY    GARDEN WHAT   FRUITS    WERE    CULTIVATED.    85 

The  grape-vine  is  a  patient  friend,  and,  there- 
fore, we  neglect  it.  We  can  train  it  when  con- 
venient after  October,  so  we  delay  and  put  it  off 
till  spring,  and  then  every  cut  becomes  a  bleed- 
ing wound.  It  is  nearly  hardy,  and  many 
varieties  will  usually  endure  exposure,  so  we 
delay  covering  till  the  edge  of  winter,  or  risk 
them  above  ground  altogether.  I  did  this  in 
'71,  and  scarcely  had  five  pounds  of  fruit  in 
consequence  the  next  season,  when  I  ought  to 
have  had  five  hundred  or  a  thousand.  Then  in 
the  spring  we  can  tie  them  up  any  time ;  and  in 
the  press  of  other  things  and  the  general  spirit  of 
procrastination  in  which  we  like  to  put  off  every- 
thing, even  preparing  for  Paradise  till  it  is  almost 
too  late,  we  leave  them  till  the  buds  are  no  longer 
little  hard  knobs,  but  incipient  branches  that 
will  drop  off  even  if  you  touch  them  as  one 
would  a  baby's  cheek.  I  would  like  to  see  the 
man  of  superhuman  patience  who  could  finish, 


86    MY   GARDEN — WHAT   FRUITS   WERE    CULTIVATED. 

in  an  equable  frame  of  mind,  the  tying  up  of  a 
long,  scraggly  vine  about  the  first  of  May. 
How  the  branches  twist  around  and  tangle 
themselves  up  !  How  they  fall  out  of  hand  and 
strike  every  possible  thing  on  their  way  to  the 
ground!  How  his  fingers  seem  all  thumbs, 
while  with  many  contortions  of  face  in  his  anx- 
iety and  excessive  care  he  tries  to  tie  a  lofty 
spray  so  as  not  to  knock  off  a  prominent  bud, 
but  in  the  meantime,  with  his  elbows,  does  the 
business  for  a  half  dozen  others  unseen  !  And 
how  at  last  the  ground  is  sprinkled  with  little 
purple  germs,  each  representing  two  or  three 
clusters  that  might  have  ripened  in  the  autumn. 
Well  may  he  sigh  with  Whittier,  "  It  might  have 
been  !  "  Premising  that  the  vine  was  his  own, 
the  amateur  who  could  look  serene  through  such 
an  experience  would  be  ready  for  translation  at 
once,  providing  he  had  not  neglected  his  other 
duties  as  he  had  the  tying  his  vines  in  season. 


MY   GARDEN WHAT    FRUITS    WERE    CULTIVATED.    87 

On  some  occasions  like  the  above,  I  am  satisfied 
that  the  expression  on  my  face  might  well  ren- 
der sour  such  grapes  as  grew  on  the  few  buds 
left. 

Then  the  culture  of  grapes  is  one  of  the  most 
remarkable  instances  where  man's  avarice  over- 
reaches itself. 

' '  What !  cut  that  splendid  branch  of  new  wood 
way  in  there  ? "  asks  the  novice  in  dismay. 
"  Leave  only  two  or  three  buds  !  That  seems 
like  throwing  away  pounds  of  fruit." 

Yes,  it  "seems;"  but  your  experienced 
grower  cuts  as  remorselessly  as  a  veteran  army 
surgeon.  And  yet  I  am  told  that  professional 
gardeners  are  so  conscious  of  this  weakness  in 
regard  to  their  own  vines,  that  sometimes  they 
will  send  for  another  of  the  fraternity  to  do  the 
annual  pruning,  knowing  that  the  hand  of  a 
stranger  will  be  directed  by  science,  unswayed 
by  interest  or  affection  ;  and  in  the  costly  green- 


88    MY    GARDEN — WHAT    FRUITS   WERE    CULTIVATED. 

house  it  is  no  trifling  matter  how  the  vines  are 
trimmed.  (Reflection  :  I  suppose  it  is  on  this 
principle  that  surgeons  and  physicians  do  not 
like  to  practise  in  their  own  families.) 

The  great  majority  of  us  leave  one  or  more 
buds  too  many  on  every  branch,  meaning  to  do 
some  rigorous  spring  and  summer  pruning. 
Where  the  buds  start  too  thickly  we  will  rub 
some  off,  not  promiscuously,  by  late  tying,  but 
with  great  judgment.  And  when  the  forming 
clusters  are  little  furzy  blossoms  of  exquisite 
perfume,  we  can  go  through  them  on  June  even- 
ings, and  cut  out  all  save  the  most  promising 
canes.  Yes,  we  can,  but  do  we  always  in  time? 
Though  such  a  task  is  the  very  poetry  of  gar- 
dening, the  Eden  phase  in  which  we  have  only 
to  check  Nature's  too  exuberant  efforts  in  our 
behalf,  still  the  tangled  and  matted  mass  of 
vines  and  smothered  fruit  that  I  have  seen  in 
other  gardens  as  well  as  my  own  indicate  the 


MY    GARDEN — WHAT    FRUITS    WERE    CULTIVATED.    89 

fatal  neglect.  In  the  average  garden,  procrasti- 
nation, that  we  all  preach  against  and  nearly  all 
practise,  is  one  of  the  most  common  sources  of 
ill-success. 

But  if  a  man  will  study  grape-vines  and  learn 
grape-vines,  he  can  do  some  very  beautiful 
things  with  them,  and  by  attention  and  outlay 
can  do  it  on  a  large  scale.  Still,  as  I  have  said, 
it  is  a  fine  art  requiring  no  little  skill,  judgment, 
and  thought.  A  nice  balance  must  be  kept 
between  root  and  vine.  You  must  feed  your 
vine  in  view  of  what  you  wish  to  produce.  It 
must  be  pruned  with  a  forethought  looking 
through  several  summers  instead  of  only  one ; 
otherwise  you  soon  have  long  reaches  of  barren 
old  wood,  with  a  few  clusters  at  the  end,  like 
some  dry  sermons  finishing  off  with  a  good 
practical  application. 

You  must  see  that  those  in  your  employ, 
economical  of  time  and  cord,  do  not  tie  them 


90    MY    GARDEN WHAT    FRUITS    WERE    CULTIVATED. 

all  up  in  a  bunch,  as  mine  once  were.  On  such 
matters  I  can  give  a  few  crude  hints,  but  when 
it  comes  to  the  niceties  of  hybridization,  etc., 
such  as  my  medical  friend  practises  in  moments 
of  leisure,  I  have  nothing  to  say. 

If  any  have  been  beguiled  into  sitting  at  my 
feet  as  disciples  in  expectation  of  the  inner 
mysteries,  they  had  better  move  on.  The  ora- 
cle is  dumb. 

In  time  I  hope  to  raise  grapes  that  "au- 
thorities "  will  press  approvingly  between  their 
critical  lips  at  a  horticultural  exhibition.  In 
the  meantime  I  am  growing  such  as  people 
who  cannot  get  better  are  willing  to  eat  and 
pay  for.  My  sales  in  '71  were  three  hundred 
and  twenty  pounds,  realizing  thirty-seven  dol- 
lars and  ninety-four^ents. 

It  should  be  added  that,  though  as  a  family 
we  were  not  great  producers  of  the  classical 
fruit,  we  were  all  great  consumers.  It  seemed 


MY    GARDEN — WHAT    FRUITS    WERE    CULTIVATED.    9! 

also  as  if  the  beasts  of  the  field  and  fowls  of  the 
air — things  above,  on,  and  under  the  earth — all 
conspired  to  deplete  my  vines.  I  do  not  think 
over  half  the  crop  was  sold.  It  was  well  that 
everything  and  everybody  made  the  most  of  it, 
for  scarcely  a  cluster  did  we  get  in  '72.  The 
vines  were  not  protected,  and  the  severe  open 
winter  turned  even  the  Concords  into  dry  sticks. 
But  a  good  growth  was  made  for  '73,  and  I 
hope  this  year  to  catch  up  with  '71.  Some 
may  regard  this  as  crab-like  progress. 

My  pear-trees  are  young  and  few,  yet  in 
bearing.  But  the  past  three  seasons  we  have 
had  some  splendid  fellows  to  put  away  on 
shelves  to  ripen  for  state  occasions. 

I  have  quite  a  number  of  peach-trees,  nearly 
all  natural  fruit,  that  is,  grown  directly  from  the 
pit  without  the  budding  in  of  some  approved 
variety.  In  '71  a  few  of  the  trees  commenced 
bearing,  but  last  year  many  of  them  bore  finely. 


92    MY    GARDEN — WHAT    FRUITS    WERE    CULTIVATED. 

Some  of  the  seedlings  produced  unusually  fine 
peaches  ;  but  partly  from  neglect  and  partly 
from  avarice,  I  permitted  them  to  overbear. 
Another  year  I  shall  believe  in  the  paradox, 
that  when  the  trees  are  loaded,  if  you  will  pick 
off  two-thirds  of  the  green  ones  when  large  as 
hickory-nuts,  you  will  have  more  fruit.  More- 
over, the  hornets,  wasps,  and  yellow-jackets  got 
nearly  half  the  crop.  As  soon  as  a  peach 
begins  to  mellow  on  one  cheek  they  puncture  it 
and  appropriate  the  best  part,  leaving  the 
remainder  to  speedy  decay.  From  the  time  of 
raspberries  forward  I  hardly  know  how  to  deal 
with  these  little  stern-armed  pirates.  When 
you  approach  they  leave  you  in  miserable 
uncertainty  whether  they  will  fight  or  fly,  and 
most  of  us  would  rather  endure  the  stings  of 
conscience  than  their  envenomed  attacks.  I 
have  hit  on  one  means  of  fighting  them  that  is 
doubly  "  sweet,"  since  it  is  composed  of  molas- 


MY   GARDEN — WHAT   FRUITS   WERE    CULTIVATED.    93 

ses  and  water,  and  gives  you  "revenge."  I 
fill  a  smooth  china  bowl  with  the  liquid  and  put 
it  under  the  trees  and  vines.  They  get  in,  but 
can't  get  out,  and,  like  the  "  dying  swan,"  they 
hum  themselves  to  death.  Or  to  indulge  in 
another  allusion  suitable  to  their  just,  but  un- 
happy fate,  they  die  on  the  same  general  prin- 
ciple that  Mirabeau  preferred,  when  he  said, 
"  Intoxicate  me  with  perfume;  let  me  die  with 
the  sound  of  music." 

Exit  wasp,   hornet,   yellow-jacket — and    my 
chapter. 


VII. 

MARKETS. 

THE  heading  of  this  chapter  suggests  to  the 
reader  a  question  of  no  slight  importance  : 
"Suppose  that  I  raise  all  and  more  than  you 
do,  (and  there  would  be  no  difficulty  in  doing 
this,)  what  shall  I  do  with  it  ?  "  One  of  the  first 
things  I  learned  at  Sabbath-school  was,  that  it 
is  easier  to  ask  questions  than  to  answer  them. 
I  admit  at  once  that  this  query  as  to  a  market 
must  enter  into  it  and  modify  all  garden  plans. 
In  the  main  it  is  a  question  which  each  one  who 
possesses  or  contemplates  a  garden  must  answer 
for  himself.  It  is  one  of  the  points  on  which 
judgment,  native  shrewdness,  and  especially  a 
knowledge  of  what  is  in  demand,  must  be  exer- 


MARKETS.  95 

cised.  The  merchant  would  be  regarded  as 
very  ignorant,  to  say  the  least,  who  should  lay 
in  a  large  stock  that  he  could  not  sell  ;  and  the 
agriculturist  is  equally  lacking  who  plants  his 
land  with  that  for  which  there  is  little  or  no  re- 
quest. 

Having  learned  what  is  reasonably  sure  of  a 
prompt  sale,  judgment  must  be  used  in  respect 
to  what  crops  shall  be  grown,  and  how  much  of 
each  ;  for  there  is  usually  quite  a  varied  choice 
permitted  to  the  grower. 

Again,  a  little  shrewdness  in  the  introduction 
of  a  new  thing  will  often  create  a  market. 

This  is  speaking  generally.  In  the  following 
remarks  I  \vill  try  to  be  as  specific  as  I  can,  and 
to  give  the  character  of  my  own  market.  And 
yet  it  is  mainly  on  general  principles  that  one 
must  speak,  for  this  question  of  a  market  is  so 
modified  by  local  circumstances,  that  nothing 
said  of  one  place  will  exactly  apply  to  another. 


96  MARKETS. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  these  articles  are 
written  from  the  stand-point  of  a  professional 
man,  and  chiefly  for  those  who  propose  to  make 
the  garden  a  mere  adjunct  to  some  other  call- 
ing. As  my  title  suggests,  I  hope  to  show  many 
who  have  and  many  who  have  not  a  garden, 
how  they  also  might  find  "play  and  profit"  in 
one. 

I  will  touch  but  briefly  on  the  great  markets 
of  New  York  and  similar  large  cities.  Mr. 
Henderson,  in  his  well-known  book,  has  clearly 
presented  the  nature  of  vegetable  gardening  and 
its  rewards.  It  is  shown  to  be  extremely  profit- 
able to  those  who  understand  it,  set  about  it 
under  the  right  conditions,  and  devote  their 
whole  energies  to  it  At  the  same  time,  unless 
one  chooses  it  as  a  calling,  it  is  a  phase  of  agri- 
culture impossible  for  a  professional  man.  One 
must  be  within  three  or  four  miles  of  the  mar- 
ket, and  land  is  so  high,  competition  so  keen, 


MARKETS.  97 


that  success  requires  all  the  skill  and  energy  of 
the  most  absorbed  and  driving  business  man. 
In  the  South  a  professional  man  having  land 
near  some  line  of  quick  transportation  north, 
might  often  ship  vegetables  to  great  advantage. 
Judging  from  the  price  that  early  produce  brings 
here,  it  ought  to  pay  them  abundantly. 

But  the  fruit  market  of  a  large  city  is  a  very 
different  affair.  This  can  be  supplied  from  a 
distance,  and  generally  at  a  fair  profit  to  the 
producer.  Multitudes  are  securing  a  good 
livelihood  in  this  business,  and  not  a  few  are 
amassing  fortunes.  There  is  nothing  to  pre- 
vent the  merchant  or  professional  man  from 
sharing  in  these  profits.  Say  one  has  an  acre 
or  more  around  his  country  home,  and  has  a 
little  taste  and  time  for  gardening.  It  is  no 
great  task  to  put  out  fruit-trees  and  vines  ;  and 
a  Bartlett  pear  or  golden  pippin  will  thrive  in 

some  neglected  corner  where  before  only  weeds 
7 


98  MARKETS. 

were  rampant.  As  we  have  said,  a  cherry-cur- 
rant bush  will  grow  where  a  burdock  may  have 
flourished,  and  as  readily.  If  one  is  not  artistic 
and  particular  as  to  appearances,  he  can  line  his 
fences  with  currants  and  fruit-trees,  and  leave 
the  open  space  for  strawberries,  raspberries,  etc. 
When  the  owner  can  give  an  hour  or  two  a  day 
in  supervision  and  labor,  it  will  go  a  good  way 
if  judiciously  expended.  In  many  families  there 
are  those  who  could  look  after  the  lighter  labors 
of  culture  and  the  preparation  of  fruit  for  mar- 
ket. The  train  or  boat  takes  it  to  town,  and 
your  commission  man  sells  it  and  makes  returns. 
The  carrying  forward  of  all  this  on  a  moderate 
scale  need  not  require  more  than  a  fraction  of  a 
man's  time,  providing  he  can  find  suitable  as- 
sistants ;  and  a  sensible  man  should  have  no 
more  difficulty  in  finding  these  for  his  garden 
than  for  his  store  or  office.  The  merchant  does 
not  give  up  his  store  because  he  has  a  few  in- 


MARKETS.  99 


competent  and  dishonest  clerks ;  no  more 
should  he  his  garden.  In  the  stocking  of  his 
place  with  fruit,  a  man  must  use  judgment,  not 
planting  whatever  he  can  first  lay  his  hands  on, 
but  such  kinds  as  he  has  found  to  be  in  demand, 
and  such  as  are  suitable  in  their  habits  of 
growth  to  his  own  locality.  Some  of  his  neigh- 
bors, no  doubt,  are  raising  and  selling  fruit ;  let 
him  learn  from  them  the  varieties  that  grow  the 
thriftiest  and  sell  the  readiest. 

In  marketing  he  should  not  put  good,  bad, 
and  indifferent  together  in  any  old  baskets  or 
boxes  that  may  be  lying  around,  and  send  it  to- 
ward the  great  city,  like  a  man  drawing  a  bow 
at  a  venture.  Let  him  go  first  to  the  city  and 
find  a  trustworthy  commission-house,  (the  thing 
is  possible  !  !)  or,  at  least,  let  him  try  several, 
and  selecting  the  one  with  whom  he  is  best  sat- 
isfied, then  learn  from  the  market  just  the  kinds 
of  packages  that  are  most  approved. 


Thus,  after  some  time  and  trouble  in  starting, 
and  several  dear  lessons  from  experience,  there 
is  no  doubt  that  the  persisting  man  might  not 
only  supply  his  own  family,  but  secure  a  con- 
siderable addition  to  his  income.  In  some  re- 
spects, I  should  prefer  such  a  market  as  I  have 
spoken  of  to  any  other  ;  for,  while  ordinary  fruit 
often  sells  at  very  low  prices,  it  always  can  be 
sold,  and  so  got  off  your  hands,  while  superior 
fruit  will  invariably  bring  a  good  price  and  often 
a  very  large  one.  Thus  your  market  becomes 
an  incentive  to  produce  the  best.  Moreover, 
after  your  fruit  is  picked  and  shipped,  you  have 
no  more  trouble,  while  a  small  local  market  is 
hopelessly  glutted,  and  you  have  to  make  great 
exertions  to  prevent  parts  of  crops  from  perish- 
ing on  your  hands. 

But  as  my  experience  has  been  mainly  with  a 
local  market,  I  will  now  restrict  my  discussion 
to  this  phase  of  the  subject. 


MARKETS. 


Under  this  aspect  I  would  consider  the  home 
market,  such  as  a  man's  own  table  furnishes,  as 
first  in  importance.  If  a  family,  in  ordinarily 
good  circumstances,  kept  a  separate  account  of 
the  fruit  and  vegetables  bought  and  used  during 
the  year,  they  would  doubtless  be  surprised  at 
the  sum  total.  But  if  they  could  see  the  amount 
they  could  and  would  consume  if  they  didn't 
have  to  buy,  surprise  would  be  a  very  mild  way 
of  putting  it.  A  very  small  piece  of  ground 
judiciously  cultivated  will  give  a  large  family  a 
large  supply,  while  acres  neglected  or  poorly 
managed  will  yield  little  save  expense  and  dis- 
appointment. Premising  that  the  actual  or 
possible  possessor  of  a  little  land  and  his  family 
have  a  fair  average  of  brains,  and  are  willing  to 
use  them  in  learning  how  to  take  care,  of  the  gar- 
den, just  as  they  would  learn  to  do  anything 
else; — then,  if  they  can  regularly  give  a  certain 
amount  of  time  to  its  culture,  the  work  can  all, 


or  at  least  mainly,  be  performed  without  outside 
help,  and  the  saving  of  money  expended  in  the 
wilted  cholera-morbus  producing  products  of 
the  market,  the  gain,  in  quality  and  quantity 
enjoyed,  and  in  health  and  pleasure  secured, 
ought  to  make  a  sum  total  that  would  drive  any 
man  with  a  conscience  to  the  furnishing  of  his 
own  home  supply. 

Having  done  this,  and  still  often  possessing  a 
surplus,  the  grower  may  very  naturally  wish  to 
dispose  of  it.  He  may  be  so  located  as  to  ren- 
der it  impossible  to  ship  to  any  large  market,  or 
the  amount  may  be  too  small  to  make  it  worth 
the  while.  And  yet  the  odd  dollars  that  would 
be  secured  if  the  surplus  could  find  a  market, 
are  a  consideration. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  all  this  is 
not  written  for  those  patricians  who  sell  pills 
and  pewter,  stocks  and  justice — in  brief,  all 
kinds  of  merchandise,  themselves  included 


sometimes,  but  who  are  too  proud  to  dispose 
of  anything  from  their  country-place ;  nor  for 
those  wealthy,  easy-going  families  who  consume 
and  give  away  what  they  can,  and  leave  the 
rest  to  perish,  but  rather  for  such  as  have  long- 
ings for  country-life  and  garden  luxuries,  which 
can  only  be  gratified  by  careful  economy  and 
some  financial  return  ;  or  for  those  who,  having 
land  and  needing  such  return,  would  only  be 
too  glad  to  know  how  to  secure  it.  If  any  pro- 
fessional or  business  men  feel  that  their  "  cloth  " 
will  not  permit  them  to  enter  into  any  negotia- 
tions with  their  grocer  or  butcher  for  an  ex- 
change for  the  products  of  the  garden,  let  them 
cherish  their  cloth.  We  are  writing  for  those 
whose  dignity  and  reputation  do  not  require 
such  careful  nursing. 

But  through  these  worthy  members  of  the 
village  commonwealth  a  local  market  may  soon 
be  discovered  and  developed.  They  can  in- 


104  MARKETS. 

form  the  grower  what  articles  are  in  demand, 
and  by  temptingly  displaying  at  these  rural 
centres  fruits  and  vegetables  not  ordinarily  in 
request,  a  market  can  be  created  for  them. 
Such  has  been  my  experience  ;  and  perhaps  I 
can  best  suggest  to  the  reader  how  to  deal  with 
a  local  market  by  describing  to  them  my  own. 

My  little  plantation  is  situated  on  the  out- 
skirts of  a  village  of  about  one  thousand  five 
hundred  inhabitants.  It  contains  two  markets 
and  half  a  dozen  stores,  more  or  less,  that 
keep  among  their  multifarious  wares  what 
some  of  the  country-people  call  "  garden 
sass."  Like  most  places  near  New  York, 
the  'supply  is  derived  partly  from  the  sur- 
rounding country  and  partly  from  Washington 
Market.  When  I  first  commenced,  my  contribu- 
tions were  small  and  precarious,  but  I  have  since 
been  able  to  overcrowd  our  limited  market  for 
w'eeks  together  with  certain  articles.  Some  of 


MARKETS.  105 

the  stores  daily  send  a  wagon  to  West  Point  to 
accommodate  their  customers  there,  and  I  have 
had  occasional  dealings  with  the  West  Point 
market.  This  enlarges  my  opportunities  some- 
what, but  beyond  the  village  there  was  no  cer- 
tainty and  regularity  of  demand.  The  hotels  and 
boarding-houses  I  have  supplied  with  little  save 
fruit,  and  of  this  phase  of  my  market  I  will  speak 
later.  My  gardener  has  made  arrangements  with 
several  neighboring  families  by  which  he  sup- 
plies them  directly  with  the  best  and  earliest 
products  at  the  best  retail  prices.  These  swell 
the  aggregate  of  receipts  largely,  but  when  you 
estimate  the  time  required  in  obtaining  and 
filling  such  small  orders,  and  the  interruptions 
they  cause  in  the  routine  of  business,  little  is 
gained. 

In  addition  to  the  regular  customers  who  be- 
come dependent  on  my  factotum,  Thomas,  for 
part  of  their  daily  food,  there  was  a  still  larger 


I06  MARKETS. 

class  of  "  occasionals  "  who  appeared  all  hours 
and  seasons,  with  all  kinds  of  vessels  and  ve- 
hicles, at  the  general  salesroom,  a  wide-spread- 
ing apple-tree  in  the  centre  of  the  garden. 
There  was  no  calculating  on  this  class.  Some 
days  they  would  come  in  shoals,  and  on  others 
would  not  come  at  all.  It  seemed  that  when  a 
cool,  crisp  head  of  lettuce  presented  itself  to 
their  fancy,  or  the  thought  of  relieving  the 
monotony  of  the  day  by  the  sharp  biting  radish, 
or  aromatic,  emotional  onion,  occurred  to  them, 
they  immediately  seized  upon  basket  and 
started,  and  that  thus  their  visits  had  all  the 
irregularity  ever  known  to  belong  to  human  im- 
pulses. But  Thomas,  the  head  salesman,  or 
Charlie,  the  book-keeper,  was  either  under  the 
apple-tree,  or  not  far  off,  and  their  sudden  long- 
ings were  satisfied 

With  my  limited  area  of  land,  Blackcaps  and 
raspberries   are   the   only  fruits   with   which    I 


MARKETS.  IO7 


have  been  able  to  overstock  the  market,  even 
for  a  brief  time.  Nor  could  it  be  done  with 
these  if  they  would  only  show  a  little  consid- 
eration in  ripening.  It  may  be  misery  to 
them  to  be  picked,  and  as  "  misery  loves  com- 
pany," they  all  aim  to  meet  their  fate  at  once. 
Some  intensely  hot  day  every  berry  on  your 
bushes  will  appear  ripe.  This  occurs,  too,  at 
the  very  worst  time,  just  after  the  Fourth  of 
July,  when  people,  having  spent  all  their 
money,  and  satiated  themselves  with  good 
things,  have,  in  consequence,  a  little  touch  of 
dyspepsia,  cholera-morbus,  or  economical  re- 
morse. There  is  a  thinning  out  at  the  hotels 
and  boarding-houses,  and  a  general  contrac- 
tion. But  in  the  garden  there  is  a  general 
expansion.  Berries  that  were  little  green 
knobs  in  the  morning  are  red  and  ripe  in  the 
evening,  and  the  bushes  suddenly  become 
purple  and  crimson  all  down  the  long  rows. 


JOS  MARKETS. 

Indeed,  they  are  like  the  friends  of  the  rich, 
who  are  most  prodigal  of  favors  when  most 
unneeded.  You  can't  get  them  all  picked, 
and  such  a  sudden  pressure  on  a  dull  village 
market  is  apt  to  "break  it  down"  utterly,  as 
they  say  in  Wall  Street. 

At  times  like  these  Thomas  is  in  a  great 
flutter,  and  talks  "preserves"  to  his  customers 
with  such  zeal  that  you  would  imagine  he  was 
to  have  an  interest  in  every  jar.  He  knows 
that  those  wonderful  little  combinations  of 
sugar  and  water  that  cluster  so  temptingly  on 
the  vines,  if  not  disposed  of  in  a  few  hours, 
will  disappear  and  vanish  away  like  the  dew 
of  a  summer  morning,  and  no  trace  be  left  in 
pocket  or  day-book.  With  strawberries  I 
never  was  able  to  crowd  the  market  but  once, 
and  that  was  through  bad  management.  On 
one  day  we  sold  ten  bushels  at  the  rate  of 
thirty  cents  per  quart,  and  yet  the  call  for 


MARKETS.  109 

them  was  not  by  any  means  satisfied.  Indeed, 
I  think  the  world's  capacity  for  strawberries 
has  never  been  fully  met ;  which  is  to  me  a 
proof  that  the  race  is  not  as  totally  depraved 
as  some  imagine.  Any  fruit  containing  so 
much  of  Eden  could  scarcely  be  so  universally 
relished  by  an  utterly  fallen  race.  Some  rigid 
divine  may  object  to  this  view  on  the  ground 
that  the  majority  neglect  the  culture  of  the 
strawberry.  In  reply  I  would  say  that  they 
do  so  on  the  principle  that  while  all  wish  to  go 
to  heaven,  very  many  seemingly  are  unwilling 
to  make  the  effort  necessary  to  get  there.  I 
may  be  illogical  as  to  the  race,  but  as  to  the 
strawberry  my  meaning  is  clear. 

In  regard  to  fruit,  my  chief  markets  are  the 
hotels  and  boarding-houses  in  the  vicinity. 
To  these  I  probably  dispose  of  four-fifths  of 
my  entire  crop. 

If,  from  any  cause,  there  are  a  few  hundred 


1 10  MARKETS. 

around  you  who  have  little  to  do  save  digest, 
it  can  readily  be  seen  what  a  market  is 
created.  Society  is  growing  refined  and  wise, 
putting  upon  itself  many  restraints ;  but  it 
will  digest,  whether  in  pain  or  pleasure.  And 
as  a  watering-place  is  one  where  people  come 
to  recruit,  that  is,  eat  more  than  ever  before, 
it  is  an  advantageous  locality  for  a  garden. 

In  closing,  therefore,  it  may  be  said  that 
the  reader  contemplating  a  local  market, 
should,  by  observation  and  careful  inquiry, 
learn  the  nature  and  extent  of  the  local  de- 
mand, and  first  meet  this.  Then,  in  addition, 
he  may  be  able  to  develop  a  request  for  other 
things  that  he  finds  can  be  raised  with 
profit.  But  if  these  hints  are  not  complied 
with,  the  sanguine  gardener  may  find  at  the 
end  of  the  season  that  he  alone  has  been 
sold. 


VIII. 

EXPENSES. 

THIS  is  rather  an  ugly  chapter  to  look  forward 
to.  If  the  reader  would  only  permit  me  to  skip 
this,  I  am  satisfied  I  could  render  him  desper- 
ately in  love  with  gardening,  however  naturally 
averse.  California,  the  diamond  fields,  and 
Wall  Street,  would  lose  all  attractions.  Men  in 
haste  to  be  rich  would  only  have  to  start  a  gar- 
den, and  then  with  a  pencil  figure  themselves  in- 
to a  fortune.  If  the  strawberries  on  five-eighths 
of  an  acre  sold  for  five  hundred  and  eighty-nine 
dollars,  what  would  the  strawberries  on  five 
acres — fifty  acres  bring  ?  The  result,  on  paper, 
almost  takes  away  one's  breath. 

"Two  thousand  from  two  acres  !  "  cries  a  san- 


guine  reader.  "  I  have  twenty  acres,  and  may, 
therefore,  have  an  income  of  twenty  thousand 
dollars." 

Figure  it  out  on  land,  my  friend,  and  tell  us 
the  result.  It  evidently  is  not  good  for  us  to 
grow  rich  suddenly ;  there  are  so  few  honest 
ways  of  doing  it,  and  gardening  certainly  is  not 
one  of  them.  It  is  time,  perhaps,  that  this 
chapter  on  expenses  should  be  put  in  as  ballast. 
One  can  build  chateaux  en  Espagne  at  little 
cost  over  a  winter  fire,  but  he  cannot  put  up  a 
summer  tool-house  without  a  formidable  bill. 

Moreover,  amateur  and  inexperienced  garden- 
ers are  proverbially  extravagant,  and  I  have 
proved  no  exception.  In  commencing,  our 
dealings  are  with  a  shrewd,  practical  class,  who 
detect  greenness  at  a  glance,  and  often  profit  by 
it.  Such  worthy  souls,  doubtless,  satisfy  their 
consciences  by  the  thought  that  they  are  selling 
us  experience  at  the  same  time.  The  beginner 


EXPENSES.  113 

also  knows  nothing  of  the  short  cuts  and  sleight- 
of-hand  by  which  a  professional  often  accom- 
plishes wonders.  I  do  not  mean  tricky  prac- 
tices (Nature  will  not  put  up  with  these),  but 
those  skilful  touches  which  a  gardener's  genius 
devises ;  and,  let  me  assure  you,  there  is  as 
much  scope  for  genius  and  skill  in  the  garden  as 
elsewhere.  Many  a  man  who  can  write  an  epic 
cannot  raise  strawberries,  and  taking  the  average 
of  epics,  I  think  he  who  can  do  the  latter  is  the 
more  to  be  commended  and  honored.  But  as  I 
went  into  gardening  without  genius,  skill,  or  any 
great  experience,  I  lifted  by  the  main  strength 
of  money  a  great  deal  more  than  was  necessary, 
as  the  following  figures  will  show. 

Moreover,  I  was  able  to  bestow  little  over  an 
hour  a  day  on  the  garden.  If  I  had  given  all 
my  time  and  thought,  I  could  have  saved  on 
every  side. 

During  the  four  years  previous  I  had  merely 


114  EXPENSES. 

made  the  garden  pay  its  way,  selling  enough 
annually  to  refund  the  cost  of  cultivation.  In 
addition,  I  had  an  abundant  supply  for  my  own 
family,  and  this  I  regarded  as  my  profit.  Each 
year,  if  we  had  bought  at  village  prices  all  that 
we  used,  it  would  have  cost  us  not  far  from  five 
hundred  dollars.  In  brief,  we  could  have  af- 
forded no  such  supply.  But  when  you  go  to 
market  among  the  dewy  vegetable  beds  and 
vines  of  your  own  garden,  you  return  with  your 
basket  full. 

But  in  '71,  after  a  larger  expenditure  than 
will  ever  be  required  again  on  the  same  ground, 
there  was  a  very  nice  margin  in  cash,  as  well  as 
a  prodigal  supply  -of-  the  home-market. 

The  first  item  of  expense  to  which  I  will  direct 
attention  is  that  for  fertilizers.  There  is  not  the 
shadow  of  a  chance  for  success  unless  the  ground 
is  thoroughly  enriched  and  kept  so.  Here  is 
where  the  majority  fail.  A  man  might  almost 


EXPENSES.  IIS 


as  well  draw  a  check  on  a  bank  in  which  he  has 
made  no  deposit,  as  to  plant  seed  and  fruit  in 
poor  ground.  Yet  multitudes  are  doing  the  lat- 
ter every  year  and  growling  over  the  result. 
Nature  is  very  independent,  and  keeps  on  the 
even  tenor  of  her  way  with  a  sublime  indifference 
to  those  who  disregard  her  laws.  It  should  be 
remembered  also  that  land  in  very  fair  condi- 
tion for  farm-crops  is  in  no  state  for  a  garden. 
The  soil  must  be  deepened  and  thoroughly 
warmed  and  mellowed  by  manure.  During  the 
first  year  that  my  garden  reached  its  present  lim- 
its, I  expended  not  far  from  four  hundred  dol- 
lars, in  this  way;  and  in  '71  I  laid  out  sixty- 
eight  dollars  and  fifty  cents  in  maintaining  the 
necessary  degree  of  fertility.  This  was  not  at 
all  extravagant,  for  Mr.  Henderson  (certainly  an 
indisputable  authority  on  such  subjects)  states 
that  the  market-gardens  around  New  York  re- 
quire from  fifty  to  one  hundred  tons  of  barn- 


Il6  EXPENSES. 

yard  manure  annually  ;  or  if  concentrated  fertil- 
izers, such  as  bone-dust,  guano,  etc.,  are  used, 
they  should  be  harrowed  in  at  the  rate  of  twelve 
hundred  to  two  thousand  pounds  to  the  acre. 
But  while  this  is  true  of  land  from  which  two  or 
three  crops  of  vegetables  are  taken  during  the 
season,  it  is  also  true  that  many  kinds  of  fruit 
would  not  bear  such  high  stimulating.  It  seems 
to  me  that  my  Clark  and  Philadelphia  raspberry 
and  the  blackberry  vines  would  grow  like  ' '  Jack's 
bean  "  under  such  treatment.  As  it  is,  they  are 
prone  to  make  too  large  a  growth.  But  Ant- 
werps,  strawberries,  and  most  vegetables  require 
high  feeding,  and  every  year  the  cost  of  enrich- 
ing the  ground  must  be  considerable.  In  our 
vicinity  also  we  have  to  pay  a  good  round  sum 
for  manure — the  prices  varying  from  two  dollars 
to  two  and  a  half  per  load,  and  I  have  paid  us 
high  as  three  dollars.  For  loads  I  must  take 
what  is  brought,  and  they  have  varied  in  weight 


EXPENSES.  117 


from  five  hundred  to  two  thousand  pounds. 
At  first  not  a  few  of  strawy  stuff  were  deliv- 
ered which,  when  well  decayed,  the  neighbors 
said  might  make  a  wheelbarrow  full  of  manure. 
But  we  have  learned  wisdom,  and  such  loads  are 
now  taken  to  some  other  market.  Thomas  keeps 
a  sharp  eye  out  and  often  pounces  down  on  a 
quantity  that  has  good  solid  weight  and  sub- 
stance. 

I  would  advise  the  reader  to  economize  in 
every  possible  way,  but  not  to  carry  it  too  far 
in  the  enriching  of  his  ground.  If  he  keeps  do- 
mestic animals,  and  will  gather  a  large  quantity 
of  leaves  every  fall,  mingling  with  these  the  ref- 
use of  the  house,  he  can  soon  have  what  is 
justly  termed  the  "farmer's  bank"  at  home. 
No  gardener  can  prosper  whose  crops  grow 
weak  and  spindling  from  poverty  of  soil. 

My  next,  and  by  far  the  largest  item  of  ex- 
pense, was  for  labor.  I  now  see  that  it  was 


Il8  EXPENSES. 


much  too  large.  Last  year  I  reduced  it  consid- 
erably, and  hope  to  lessen  it  still  more  the  coming 
season.  This  expense  has  been  nearly  doubled 
from  the  fact  that  I  could  not  use  the  plough  in 
my  garden,  and  that  my  entire  two  acres  and  a 
quarter  had  to  be  dug  over  and  cultivated  by 
hand.  During  the  present  season  I  mean  to  in- 
troduce the  plough  wherever  possible.  Here- 
tofore, not  having  a  horse,  and  often  being  unable 
to  obtain  one  suitable,  I  resolved  to  be  indepen- 
dent and  put  on  a  force  that  could  do  everything 
with  the  fork  and  hoe.  Moreover,  in  the  grad- 
ual growth  of  my  garden,  and  under  the  pecu- 
liar management  of  an  amateur,  things  have  been 
planted  crosswise  and  sidewise,  and  so  mixed 
up  generally  that  it  was  hard  to  cultivate  one 
crop  with  a  horse  without  damaging  another. 
But  I  have  learned  to  realize  that,  apart  from  the 
great  saving  of  expense,  there  is  nothing  equal 
to  a  plough  for  the  thorough  deepening  and  pul- 


EXPENSES.  Up 


verization  of  the  soil.  It  is  almost  impossible 
to  dig  ground  full  of  cobble-stones,  as  mine  is, 
sufficiently  deep,  and  it  is  wholly  so  to  find  a 
man  who  will  do  it.  But  the  first  dry  spell  of 
summer  will  show  you  the  folly  of  shallow  cul- 
tivation. 

Thomas  stays  with  me  throughout  the  year, 
and  his  wages  in  '71  amounted  to  two  hundred 
and  eighty-nine  dollars  and  twenty-four  cents. 
It  is  true  that  I  could  dispense  with  his  services 
three  months  out  of  the  year,  but  it  would  be 
very  poor  policy  to  lose  a  good  gardener  to 
make  this  small  saving.  Charlie,  who  kept  the 
books,  looked  after  the  sales,  picking  of  fruit, 
etc. ,  was  with  me  that  season  five  months  and  a 
half,  and  he  was  paid  one  hundred  and  forty- 
eight  dollars  and  fifty  cents.  I  also  engaged  a 
general  assistant  at  one  dollar  and  fifty  cents  per 
day,  and  one  hundred  and  fifty-four  dollars  and 
forty-five  cents  sum  up  his  receipts.  In  addi- 


tion,  extra  labor  was  employed  to  the  amount  of 
one  hundred  and  eighty-two  dollars  and  sixty- 
seven  cents  during  the  summer.  In  the  berry 
season  boys  picked  the  fruit  at  one  and  one-half 
cents  per  quart,  and  thirty-four  dollars  and  seven 
cents  was  the  total  of  their  earnings.  I  also 
paid  ten  dollars  and  thirty-nine  cents  for  the  use 
of  a  team,  and  seven  dollars  and  twenty-five 
cents  in  an  attempt  to  water  my  strawberry-beds 
on  a  large  scale  during  a  very  serious  drought 
in  May.  I  am  not  sure  but  I  did  as  much  harm 
as  good,  but  of  this  more  anon.  I  estimate  the 
board  of  help  at  three  hundred  and  seventeen 
dollars  and  fifty  cents,  and  thus  the  total  of  my 
labor  bill  amounts  to  one  thousand  one  hun- 
dred and  thirty-eight  dollars  and  seven  cents. 

Now  I  am  satisfied  that  if  I  could  have  given 
more  time  and  thought  to  the  garden,  and  if  its 
heavier  labors  could  have  been  performed  with 
a  plough,  at  least  four  hundred  dollars  could 


EXPENSES. 


have  been  saved  from  this  amount.  I  would 
also  add  that  the  bulk  of  this  labor  was  expended 
on  the  vegetables  that  with  me  make  nothing  like 
so  large  a  return  as  fruit.  Even  where  the  latter 
is  cultivated  by  hand  only,  it  does  not  seem  with 
me  to  require  anything  like  the  labor  of  a  vege- 
table garden.  The  strawberries  are  the  most  ex- 
acting, but  if  they  were  kept  rigidly  in  rows 
they  could  be  managed  with  comparatively  small 
outlay,  and  raspberries  so  shade  the  ground  that 
weeds  have  but  little  chance.  Every  kind  of 
fruit  can  be  so  planted  that  a  plough  running  be- 
tween them  will  leave  little  for  hand  work,  and 
therefore  my  labor  bill  is  not  so  discouraging  as 
at  first  it  might  seem. 

I  write  with  the  expectation  that  the  majority 
will  greatly  improve  on  my  experience.  Many 
may  not  have  as  good  a  market  as  I  have  had, 
but  by  more  economical  cultivation  they  can  se- 
cure as  favorable  a  margin  of  profit. 


EXPENSES. 


Then  my  seed  bill  was  no  bagatelle.  I  have 
a  weakness  for  seeds,  and  every  year  buy  many 
more  than  are  needful.  They  are  such  sugges- 
tive things,  so  full  of  promise,  but,  also,  like 
many  things  in  this  world,  so  often  bringing  dis- 
appointment. You  sometimes  find  yourself  like 
certain  moral  reformers  who  are  apparently  sow- 
ing considerable  good  seed,  which  comes  up 
only  as  weeds ;  or  like  some  short-sighted  phi- 
losophers who  scatter  theories  that  produce  a 
very  different  crop  from  what  they  expected. 
When  you  plant  a  thought  or  a  seed  you  can- 
not be  perfectly  sure  what  it  will  develop  into. 
But  after  dealing  with  R.  H.  Allen  &  Co.,  New 
York,  for  about  nine  years,  I  find  that  the  pros- 
pect of  vegetable  heretics  is  very  small,  and  that 
they  never  try  to  improve  their  seed  on  the 
principle  of  old  wine.  And  when  I  receive  one 
of  Mr.  Vick's  dainty  packages  of  flower-seeds, 
I  have  not  so  much  faith  and  hope  as  knowledge 


EXPENSES.  123 

of  the  results.  This  being  true,  how  can  one 
look  over  their  tempting  catalogues  and  deny 
himself  the  innumerable  good  dinners  suggested, 
or  forbear  the  chance  of  robbing  life  of  its  mon- 
otony by  surrounding  one's  path  by  all  the  colors 
of  the  rainbow.  Mr.  Vick  can  insure  that  every 
breeze  through  your  open  windows  shall  be  like 
the  "  gales  of  Araby  the  blest." 

Going  into  a  seed  store  is  like  a  ramble 
through  Dodd  &  Mead's,  Randolph's,  or  Scrib- 
ner's.  The  books  you  take  up  are  so  sugges- 
tive of  good  things  and  good  times.  You  know 
you  cannot  read  them  all,  but  you  look  around 
as  the  gourmand  gloats  over  a  sumptuous  feast, 
devouring  with  his  eyes  that  which  he  sighingly 
acknowledges  as  far  too  much  for  his  capacity. 
So  the  sample  boxes  and  bins  of  seeds  have  for 
the  amateur  gardener  a  strange  fascination.  He 
stands  over  and  daintily  fingers  them  ;  compares 
one  variety  with  another,  wondering  at  the  end- 


124  EXPENSES. 

less  differences.  Then-  comes  the  temptation  to 
let  Nature  develop  the  diversity  still  more  clearly 
in  a  little  serial  story,  of  which  every  spring  and 
summer  morning  will  give  you  a  new  chapter. 
Invite  your  customers  to  your  stores,  and  they 
will  double  their  orders  ! 

But  this  does  not  pay  in  the  market-garden, 
when  you  are  seeking  to  raise  what  will  yield 
and  sell  the  best ;  and  the  practical  man  behind 
the  counter,  knowing  your  purpose,  will  say 
significantly,  "  That  is  what  you  want,"  point- 
ing to  some  standard  variety  not  half  so  expen- 
sive or  promising  as  others  that  may  have  taken 
your  eye.  It  is  a  good  deal  with  seeds  as  peo- 
ple, the  most  showy  and  taking  at  first  sight  are 
not  the  best.  In  both  cases  the  most  showy 
are  the  most  costly.  But  I  never  could  resist 
the  "  novelties,"  though  some  of  them  turned 
out  to  be  old  acquaintances  dressed  up  in  new 
names,  and  more  of  them  prove  like  many  of 


EXPENSES.  125 


the  distingue  people  one  meets  at  a  watering- 
place  who  will  not  bear  investigation.  Still  I 
expect  I  shall  go  on  buying  costly  novelties  to 
the  end  of  life.  There  is  an  innate  passion  for 
speculation  in  human  nature,  and  this  is  perhaps 
so  mild  a  form  of  its  indulgence  as  to  be  permis- 
sible to  a  minister. 

Then  it  is  well  to  sow  seed  thickly,  as  it 
must  run  a  gauntlet  of  late  frosts,  drought,  cold 
rains,  and  bugs  innumerable,  and  it  is  much 
more  profitable  to  thin  out  than  plant  over 
again.  My  seed  bill  was  fifty-one  dollars  and 
thirty-five  cents,  but  I  am  satisfied  that  thirty 
dollars  would  have  bought  all  necessary. 

For  tools  thirty-seven  dollars  and  ninety-five 
cents  were  expended,  but  three-fourths  of  this 
sum  went  for  a  large  water-barrel  on  wheels, 
which  saves  the  labor  of  carrying  it  by  hand  to 
the  hot-beds  and  cold  frames.  Three  dollars 
was  expended  for  glass,  and  seventeen  dollars 


126  EXPENSES. 

and  fifty  cents  for  one  thousand  raspberry  stakes, 
and  forty-one  dollars  and  twenty-one  cents  for 
crates  and  berry-baskets.  My  flowers  cost  me 
eight  dollars  and  ninety-five  cents,  and  this  was 
the  best  investment  made,  though  the  returns 
do  not  appear  on  the  cash  account.  Miscella- 
neous items  amount  to  fifteen  dollars  and  six 
cents,  and  I  paid  one  hundred  dollars  rent  for 
the  land.  Summing  up  all  these  items  of  ex- 
pense, we  have  a  total  of  one  thousand  four 
hundred  and  eighty-one  dollars  and  fifty-nine 
cents. 

I  also  allowed  the  village  merchants  fifteen 
per  cent,  on  the  retail  price  when  they  sold  for 
me  on  commission,  and  this  was  not  always  de- 
ducted when  the  sales  were  entered  on  the  day- 
book. Some  losses  occurred,  also,  through 
articles  becoming  stale  and  unsalable,  and  by 
arrangement,  were  charged  to  me  in  settlement. 
These,  with  the  commission,  I  have  liberally 


EXPENSES.  127 


estimated  at  seventy-six  dollars  and  thirty  cents, 
which,  added  to  the  above  amount,  makes  the 
entire  expense  of  the  season  one  thousand  five 
hundred  and  fifty-seven  dollars  and  eighty-nine 
cents,  leaving  four  hundred  and  fifty-three  dol- 
lars and  eighty  cents  as  a  margin  of  profit. 

In  addition,  there  was  a  most  abundant  home 
supply  of  all  the  good  things  of  the  garden 
throughout  the  year,  and  in  view  of  this  I  sum 
up  my  profits  for  '71  at  one  thousand  dollars. 


IX. 

GROUND  FOR  A  GARDEN — WHAT  KIND 
SHALL  I  TAKE. 

WE  would  say  in  general,  the  best  you  can 
get,  adding,  any  that  you  can  get  rather  than 
not  have  a  garden  at  all.  Plants  like  to  grow 
and  Nature  likes  to  have  them.  The  most 
unpromising  spots  have  been  made  quite  Eden- 
like,  and  there  is  a  principle  in  our  nature 
that  leads  us  to  enjoy  conquering  and  subdu- 
ing. The  civilized  state  of  our  society  pre- 
vents our  doing  this  on  the  Caesar  and  Alex- 
ander plan,  and  that  phase  whjch  modern 
belles  often  push  to  such  extremes,  is  scarcely 
a  manly  recreation.  But  the  subduing  of  a 
wild  stony  piece  of  land  still  affords  true  scope 


GROUND    FOR   A   GARDEN.  129 

for  masculine  energy,  and  surely  there  is  a 
keen  satisfaction  in  taking  a  rough  field,  a 
tangled  thorny  thicket,  a  jumble  of  rocks  and 
stumps,  and  by  the  dint  of  honest  toil,  like  a 
hard-fought  battle,  changing  all  into  smooth, 
yielding  fertility. 

I  fear  most  of  my  readers  are  saying  that 
it  would  be  a  greater  satisfaction  to  find  such  a 
smooth  piece  of  ground  to  begin  with.  Well, 
that  is  not  unwise,  considering  that  the  subdu- 
ing process  is  a  very  expensive  luxury.  But 
remember  that  even  smooth  land  with  an  invit- 
ing surface  is  not  always  the  best.  There  is 
just  as  much  difference  in  the  character  of 
ground  as  in  that  of  people,  and  before  enter- 
ing into  intimate  relations  with  either,  some 
little  investigation  is  necessary.  It  is  said  of 
some  persons  that  the  more  you  do  for  them 
the  worse  they  treat  you.  There  is  the  same 
grain  of  truth  in  this  remark  when  applied  to- 


130  GROUND    FOR   A   GARDEN. 

certain  kinds  of  land.  There  are  soils  justly 
termed  "  hungry,  ungrateful."  It  is  next  to 
impossible  to  make  them  rich,  still  more  so  to 
keep  them  fertile.  Manure  goes  through  them 
like  a  sieve,  or  money  through  a  spendthrift's 
hands.  Enrich  it  as  you  please  one  season, 
you  get  little  advantage  from  the  outlay  the 
following.  That  which  should  have  given  you 
fatness  year  after  year,  has  vanished,  washed 
down  by  the  rains  out  of  sight.  It  may 
benefit  land  in  China,  but  has  little  effect  here. 
And  yet  this  sandy,  gravelly  ground,  with  a 
leachy  subsoil,  is  very  abundant  on  our  Atlan- 
tic coast,  and  in  many  districts  we  can  find  no 
other.  It  must  be  dealt  with  after  its  own  char- 
acter. We  would  advise  the  reader  to  shun 
such  land  if  possible,  but  if  the  fates  decree 
that  he  should  cultivate  land  with  a  little  more 
of  the  curse  on  it  than  some  other,  the 
following  hints  may  be  of  use.  If  the  soil  is 


GROUND    FOR  A   GARDEN.  131 

not  utterly  porous  and  leachy,  it  may  be  some- 
what permanently  improved  by  the  ploughing 
in  of  green  crops,  as  clover  or  buckwheat. 
If  clay  can  be  obtained  at  no  great  distance, 
and  at  moderate  cost,  it  might  pay  well  on  a 
small  scale  to  topdress  the  garden  thoroughly 
and  often,  with  this,  thus  giving  the  soil  a  greater 
consistency  and  retaining  power.  Mr.  Thomas 
Skene,  the  accomplished  gardener  on  Gov. 
Fish's  estate,  which  is  just  across  the  river  from 
us,  described  to  me  a  very  successful  experi- 
ment in  the  use  of  clay.  In  the  grounds  under 
his  care,  there  was  a  steep  hill-side  facing 
the  south-east.  It  was  so  dry,  leachy,  and 
barren,  that  nothing  would  grow,  and  it  was 
impossible  to  keep  a  pretty  green  sod  on  the 
place.  The  loose  sand  and  gravel  would  not 
retain  manure  long  enough  for  any  real  benefit. 
Mr.  Skene  remedied  the  evil  in  the  following 
simple  way :  Commencing  at  the  bottom  of 


GROUND    FOR  A   GARDEN. 


the  hill,  he  had  his  men  cut  a  trench  two  feet 
deep,  and  in  this  he  put  in  about  six  inches  of 
clay.  Then  a  strip  of  soil  on  the  upper  side  of 
this  trench  was  thrown  into  it,  thus  leaving 
another  trench,  side  by  side,  and  of  the  same 
depth  of  the  first ;  and  clay  was  put  in  this 
also.  Thus  the  whole  hill-side  was  regularly 
trenched  over,  and  an  artificial  clay  subsoil 
that  would  hold  water  and  prevent  manure 
from  leaching  away,  put  under  the  dry  bar- 
ren place.  The  result  was  most  favorable ; 
the  grass  no  longer  dies  out,  but  remains 
green  and  growing  throughout  the  summer. 
But  in  the  main  such  land  is  dealt  with  as  we 
do  with  the  shiftless  poor,  giving  a  little  at  a 
time,  and  making  it  go  as  far  as  possible.  In 
the  first  place,  the  manures  used  should  contain 
much  vegetable  matter,  and  not  be  light  and 
heating  in  their  character.  That  from  the  cow 
stable  is  specially  valuable.  Decayed  leaves, 


GROUND    FOR  A   GARDEN.  133 

sods,  and  muck  sweetened  and  pulverized  by 
the  action  of  frost,  are  all  excellent.  Horse 
manure  mixed  with  these  ingredients  is  far  bet- 
ter than  if  used  alone.  In  either  case,  the  fer- 
tilizer should  be  thoroughly  rotted,  so  that  the 
plants  can  use  it  at  once.  This  result  can  be  se- 
cured by  preparing  the  manure  one  year  for  the 
next.  The  heap  should  be  cut  down  and  turned 
two  or  three  times  during  the  season,  and  if  the 
pile  consists  only  of  stable  manure,  much  oftener 
to  prevent  its  heating  and  burning,  and  if  pos- 
sible, the  process  should  be  carried  forward 
under  shelter  from  the  sun  and  rain.  Thus  the 
mass  becomes  well  decayed,  pulverized,  and  with 
no  heating  properties,  and  so  can  be  directly 
applied  in  the  hill  or  row  with  the  seed  or 
around  the  plant.  In  this  way  you  outgeneral 
the  leachy  soil,  for  the  manure  concentrated 
immediately  around  the  plant  so  stimulates  it 
that  its  growth  is  made,  and  the  crop  secured 


134  GROUND    FOR  A   GARDEN. 

before  the  spring  and  summer  rains  can  wash 
the  fertilizers  away. 

Such  land  is  also  greatly  improved  by  mulch- 
ing, that  is,  by  a  covering  of  coarse  litter, 
leaves,  etc.  This  keeps  the  surface  moist, 
shields  from  the  special  enemy  of  such  a  soil, 
drouth,  and  by  its  gradual  decay  keeps  up 
a  certain  degree  of  fertility.  Even  when 
using  manure  broadcast  on  such  land,  I  have 
found  it  better  to  apply  it  to  the  surface,  for 
then  it  takes  longer  to  wash  through  out  of  sight 
and  use. 

Ground  of  this  character  has  one  great 
advantage — it  is  usually  quicker,  earlier  than 
any  other,  which  is,  for  a  market  garden,  a 
most  important  consideration.  The  moment 
the  frost  is  out  you  can  work  it,  put  in  your 
seed,  and  no  amount  of  wet  weather  can  pre- 
vent the  cultivation  of  the  crops.  While  some 
neighbor  may  be  looking  helplessly  at  his  wet 


GROUND    FOR   A   GARDEN.  135 

clay  or  heavy  loam,  you  are  driving  spring 
operations  with  Napoleonic  energy.  But  if 
there  comes  a  drouth  in  June  or  July,  your 
crops  may  be  standing  still  or  going  back, 
while  your  neighbor's  are  growing  luxuriantly. 
Still,  the  probabilities  are,  that  you  will 
always  be  earliest  in  the  market,  and  can 
chuckle  over  the  first  green  peas  of  the 
season,  though  your  crops  will  not  be  so  heavy 
as  those  on  your  neighbor's  slower  but  surer 
ground. 

The  next  soil  of  which  I  shall  speak  is  just 
the  opposite  in  character,  and  not  much  if  at 
all  better — a  heavy,  adhesive  clay,  and  a  sub- 
soil that  will  hold  water  like  india  rubber. 
What  shall  we  do  with  this  ?  Let  it  alone  if 
you  can  find  any  better.  But  if  here  again  fate 
is  against  you,  and  such  ground  must  be  cul- 
tivated or  none  at  all,  then  here,  also,  skill 
and  industry  can  wring  from  reluctant  Nature 


136  GROUND    FOR  A   GARDEN. 

a  fair  return.  This  sour,  cold,  unyielding  soil, 
like  a  churlish  disposition,  can  be  greatly  im- 
proved by  kindly  treatment.  It  wants  mellow- 
ing up  as  so  many  people  do.  Though  in  both 
cases  we  like  to  go  into  the  improving  business 
where  it  can  be  done  readily,  and  effort  goes 
a  good  ways;  still,  when  driven  to  it  by  con- 
science or  necessity,  we  find  much  improve- 
ment possible,  even  under  the  most  adverse 
circumstances. 

In  no  instance  is  the  old  adage  more  clearly 
verified,  "Too  much  of  a  good  thing,"  etc., 
as  with  the  soil  in  question.  Water,  moisture, 
is  the  prime  necessity  of  the  garden,  but  this 
kind  of  land  retains  it  to  such  a  degree  that 
there  is  always  too  much  on  hand.  In  the 
heat  of  summer  the  ground  is  like  a  sun-dried 
brick,  while  its  roots  are  mouldering  in  a 
sour,  soggy  soil.  The  first  step  is  to  drain 
off  the  evil.  Too  much  water  in  land  is  like 


GROUND    FOR   A   GARDEN.  137 

selfishness  in  character.  There  is  no  chance  for 
real  improvement  till  selfishness  is  reduced  to  a 
judicial  regard  for  self-interest ;  and  the  land 
that  persists  in  holding  water,  instead  of  giving 
it  to  the  air  above  and  springs  below,  is  past 
praying  for.  Draining  is  a  prime  necessity, 
and  the  owner  must  set  about  it  at  once,  unless 
he  would  have  his  garden  a  scene  of  disappoint- 
ment and  almost  wasted  labor.  If  there  are 
stones  on  the  land,  in  no  better  way  can  he 
dispose  of  them  than  in  the  formation  of  drains. 
If  the  garden  so  slopes  that  one  drain,  five  or  six 
feet  deep,  can  be  cut  through  near  the  centre, 
all  the  better.  If  the  soil  is  very  stiff  and  wet, 
then  side  drains,  fifteen  feet  apart,  and  three 
and  a  half  feet  deep,  should  be  dug,  leading 
into  the  main  ditch ;  but  if  the  subsoil  is  so 
porous  as  to  give  the  water  some  chance  to  get 
through,  then  these  laterals  can  be  cut  twenty- 
five  feet  apart.  The  nearness  and  number  of 


138  GROUND    FOR  A   GARDEN. 

drains  is  a  question  of  judgment  that  must  be 
decided  on  the  ground ;  and  if  the  owner  has 
had  no  experience,  it  would  be  wise  to  call  in 
a  few  neighbors.  Strike  an  average  between 
their  advice,  and  you  will  probably  hit  on 
the  right  course.  Or,  what  would  be  still 
more  to  the  point,  if  you  could  find  one  prac- 
tical man,  who  has  successfully  and  econom- 
ically done  the  work,  you  had  better  follow  his 
example. 

If  there  are  cobble-stones  on  your  land,  then 
the  common  rubber  drain  will  answer.  Throw 
them  into  the  main  ditch  to  the  depth  of  two 
feet,  and  the  depth  of  eighteen  inches  in  the 
three-and-a-half  feet  side  drains.  If  the  stones 
are  flat,  they  can  be  carefully  laid  on  each  other 
in  the  bottom  of  the  ditches  in  such  a  manner 
that  the  water  will  flow  readily  through.  In 
each  case  the  tops  of  the  stones  must  be  thor- 
oughly covered  with  shavings,  straw,  or  sod 


GROUND    FOR   A   GARDEN.  139 

with  the  grass  side  down,  to  prevent  the  soil 
from  washing  in  and  filling  up  the  space 
through  which  the  water  is  to  flow. 

Tile  undoubtedly  make  the  best  drains,  and 
are  probably  cheapest  in  the  long  run,  even 
where  stone  can  be  had.  But  we  naturally 
shrink  from  first  cost ;  and  where  stone  is  plenty, 
it's  use  has  the  additional  advantage  of  clearing 
the  soil.  In  many  places,  however,  tile  must  be 
employed,  and  it  does  the  business  thoroughly. 
Mr.  Henderson  prefers  the  ordinary  horse-shoe 
tile,  and  he  is  a  safe  man  to  follow.  A  good 
descent  must  always  be  provided  for,  so  that 
the  water  can  flow  off  rapidly,  and  the  joints 
of  the  tile  must  be  covered  with  sods,  the  grass 
side  down,  or  with  some  other  material  that  will 
prevent  the  soil  from  washing  through  the 
slight  openings. 

Cheap  drains  can  also  be  made  by  treading 
in  brush  to  the  depth  of  two  feet  and  covering 


140  GROUND    FOR  A   GARDEN. 

as  before  described.  These  will  remain  effective 
for  ten  or  twelve  years,  and  can  be  constructed 
on  leased  land  where  the  lessee  is  unwilling  to 
go  to  great  expense.  It  would  be  better  though 
to  make  some  arrangement  with  the  landlord, 
by  which  both  could  share  the  cost  of  thorough 
and  lasting  work. 

But  let  no  one  say,  because  my  land  is  leased, 
or  because  I  only  bought  to  sell  again  in  a  few 
years,  it  will  not  pay  me  to  incur  the  expense  of 
drainage.  My  best  argument  on  this  point  will 
be  to  relate  an  incident  told  by  Mr.  Henderson 
in  his  most  excellent  work,  "  Gardening  for 
Profit."  He  says : 

"  Every  operator  in  the  soil  concedes  the  im- 
portance of  drainage,  yet  it  is  really  astonishing 
to  observe  how  men  will  work  wet  lands  year 
after  year,  wasting  annually,  by  loss  of  crops, 
twice  the  amount  required  to  thoroughly  drain. 
A  most  industrious  German  in  this  vicinity  cul- 


GROUND    FOR   A   GARDEN.  141 

tivated  about  eight  acres  for  three  years,  barely 
making  a  living  ;  his  soil  was  an  excellent  loam, 
but  two-thirds  of  it  was  so  '  spongy '  that  he 
could  never  get  it  ploughed  till  all  the  neighbors 
had  their  crops  planted.  Driving  past  one  day 
I  hailed  him,  asking  him  why  he  was  so  late  in 
getting  in  his  crop,  when  he  explained  that  if 
he  had  begun  sooner  his  horses  would  have 
'bogged'  so,  he  might  never  have  got  them 
out  again.  I  suggested  draining,  but  he  re- 
plied, that  would  not  pay  on  a  leased  place  ; 
he  had  started  on  a  leased  place  which 
had  only  seven  years  more  to  run,  and  that  he 
would  only  be  improving  it  for  his  landlord,  who 
would  allow  him  nothing  for  such  improvement. 
After  some  further  conversation,  I  asked  him  to 
jump  into  my  wagon,  and  in  ten  minutes  we 
alighted  at  a  market-garden  that  had  six  years 
before  been  just  such  a  swamp  hole  as  his  own, 
but  now  (the  middle  of  May)  was  luxuriant 


142  GROUND    FOR   A   GARDEN. 

with  vegetation.  I  explained  to  him  what  its 
former  condition  had  been,  and  that  the  invest- 
ing of  five  hundred  dollars  in  drain  tiles  would, 
in  twelve  months,  put  his  in  the  same  condi- 
tion. He,  being  a  shrewd  man,  acted  on  the 
advice,  and  at  the  termination  of  his  lease, 
purchased  and  paid  for  his  eight  acres  twelve 
thousand  dollars,  the  savings  of  six  years  on 
his  drained  garden.  I  honestly  believe,  that, 
had  he  gone  on  without  draining,  he  would  not 
have  made  twelve  thousand  dollars  in  twelve 
years,  far  less  twelve  thousand  dollars  in  six 
years.  My  friend  attributes  his  whole  success 
in  life  to  our  accidental  meeting  and  conver- 
sation that  May  morning,  and  consequently  I 
have  no  stancher  friend  on  earth  than  he." 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  soils  naturally  the 
most  favorable  for  gardening  purposes,  are  often 
so  wet  as  to  make  draining  indispensable. 
Where  this  is  the  case  let  the  cultivator  realize 


GROUND    FOR   A   GARDEN.  143 

it  at  once,  and  waste  no  time  in  fighting  against 
Nature.  When  a  loamy  piece  of  land  or  a  muck 
swamp  can  be  drained,  they  make  the  finest  gar- 
den land  existing,  and  the  happy,  enterprising 
owner  can  be  congratulated  upon  almost  certain 
success ;  for  thorough  drainage  on  one  hand 
avoids  the  danger  of  excessive  moisture,  and 
the  nature  of  his  soil,  on  the  other,  enables  him 
to  defy  drouth. 

But  if  the  reader  possesses  or  purchases  a 
loamy  soil,  that  is,  a  natural  mixture  of  sand 
and  clay,  in  such  proportions  that  it  turns  up 
mellow  and  friable  instead  of  being  sticky  and 
full  of  stumps,  and  this  is  underlaid  by  a  yellow 
loam  subsoil  which  permits  a  natural  drainage, 
he  may  rest  satisfied,  and  commence  operations 
with  the  first  conditions  of  success  in  his  favor. 
For  here  is  land  of  such  consistency  and  com- 
pactness that  it  can  be  thoroughly  and  per- 
manently enriched.  It  is  what  is  termed  a 


144  GROUND    FOR   A   GARDEN. 

"  grateful  soil."  You  can  bring  it  up  to  any 
degree  of  fertility,  for  such  portion  of  the  manure 
dug  or  ploughed  in  this  year,  that  is  not  exhaust- 
ed by  the  growth  of  crops,  remains  in  the  soil 
for  use  the  following  season. 

Such  land  is  like  a  good  investment  that 
yields  its  interest  every  year,  and  at  the  same 
time  is  growing  more  valuable.  Only  by  over- 
cropping and  weed-growing,  and  by  under- 
feeding can  such  land  be  impoverished.  Yet 
you  will  often  find  ground  of  this  character 
utterly  run  out,  poor  as  the  spendthrift  sandy 
soils  first  described,  and  this  because  there  are 
so  many  people,  who,  in  accordance  with  the 
old  adage,  will  "  ride  a  willing  horse  to  death." 
But  even  when  so  reduced,  I  would  take  such  a 
soil  in  preference  to  any  other,  in  view  of  its 
grateful  character,  its  saving  qualities,  so  to 
speak,  and  its  readiness  to  make  liberal  return 
for  liberal  treatment. 


GROUND    FOR   A   GARDEN.  145 

I  have  also  observed  that  a  soil  resting  on  a 
substratum  of  slate  was  peculiarly  well  adapted 
to  the  growth  of  fruit. 

Ordinary  clay  soils,  with  good  drainage,  can  be 
wonderfully  and  rapidly  improved  by  the  use  of 
light  stimulating  manure,  such  as  the  horse 
stable  furnishes,  and  so  treated,  are  second  to 

none  in  their  yield. 
10 


X. 

WHEN  TO   COMMENCE  A  GARDEN. 

"  WHY,  in  the  spring,  of  course." 
I  beg  to  differ  with  you,  my  reader,  fair  or 
otherwise.  The  autumn  is  the  true  practical 
spring  in  which  the  gardener  should  commence 
operations  with  the  best  hopes  of  success. 
This  may  seem  paradoxical  and  contrary  to 
Nature;  and  save  to  the  comparatively  few  who 
have  learned  by  experience,  it  is  at  variance 
with  practice.  But  it  is  not  contrary  to  Nature, 
for  in  the  cool  dewy  nights,  and  the  rains  of 
late  August  and  early  September,  we  have 
again  weather  suitable  for  the  stirring  of  the 
ground  and  the  sowing  and  growth  of  seeds. 


WHEN   TO    COMMENCE    A    GARDEN.  147 

Much  of  the  garden   can  again   be   profitably 
planted,  as  we  hope  to  show. 

When  autumn  winds  first  commence  sighing 
regretfully  over  the  summer  season  fast  depart- 
ing, and  the  coming  of  sere  winter,  there  is  a 
great  falling  off"  of  interest  in  the  garden  on  the 
part  of  the  majority.  The  spring,  with  its 
excitement  of  hope  and  promise,  the  summer, 
with  its  satiety  of  full  return,  or  its  disappoint- 
ment at  failure,  are  nearly  past,  and  the  mind  is 
turning  to  other  pursuits  and  novelties.  The 
garden  is  neglected,  and  mainly  because  it 
seems  to  require  little  attention,  and  to  promise 
little  more  for  the  year.  The  hardy  fruits  and 
vegetables  have  got  so  far  along  that  they  will 
mature  any  way,  and  not  a  few  who  were 
enthusiastic  in  April,  are  now,  as  far  as  the 
garden  is  concerned,  like  much  in  it,  on  the 
decline.  The  number  of  amateurs  who  are  like 
what  the  Bible  calls  stony-ground  hearers,  is 


148  WHEN   TO   COMMENCE   A   GARDEN. 

marvellously  large.  During  hot  July  their 
interest  dries  up,  exhales,  and  their  gardens  go 
to  the  bad. 

There  is  also  this  somewhat  mean  tendency  in 
human  nature,  that  when  we  have  got  about  all 
out  of  a  person  or  thing  that  can  be  hoped  for 
at  present,  or  when  persons  are  so  committed, 
like  a  crop  nearly  matured,  that  they  will  give 
what  is  expected  any  way,  we  are  apt  to  flag  in 
our  attentions.  Here  is  where  the  short-sighted 
fail,  for  neither  persons  nor  gardens  will  continue 
to  commit  themselves  in  our  favor  under  such 
treatment.  I  have  lost  bushels  of  berries,  not 
in  June,  the  strawberry  month,  but  in  August 
and  September,  when  the  beds  should  have 
been  made  and  cared  for.  I  have  lost  hundreds 
of  dollars,  not  in  April  and  May,  but  in  the 
autumn,  when  the  seeds  of  spring  crops  should 
have  been  sown,  and  in  the  winter,  when  they 
should  have  been  properly  protected. 


WHEN  TO   COMMENCE   A   GARDEN.  149 

So,  then,  instead  of  waiting  for  spring  to  com- 
mence the  campaign  of  the  year,  autumn  is  the 
time  of  all  others  for  the  provident  gardener  to 
enter  upon  the  activities  that  secure  success. 
Therefore,  the  value  of  gardening  as  a  source  of 
recreation  or  profit,  for  only  about  three  months 
cf  the  year  are  you  compelled  to  comparative 
idleness. 

Because  in  the  strawberry-beds  there  is  noth- 
ing but  leaves,  and  among  the  raspberries  only 
thorns  seem  to  be  left,  do  not  neglect  them.  If 
you  are  to  have  a  crop  another  year,  now  is  the 
time  for  action.  It  is  true  the  melons  are  on 
the  wane,  the  cucumbers  yellow  and  dying,  the 
peas  like  their  brush,  and  the  succulent  bush- 
beans  going  to  seed ;  but  is  that  a  reason  for 
giving  over  these  spaces  to  the  dominion  of 
weeds,  and  leaving  them  unsightly  blemishes 
upon  the  garden  ?  God  had  a  right  to  curse  the 
ground,  but  I  doubt  whether  we  have.  And 


150  WHEN   TO   COMMENCE   A   GARDEN. 

yet  I  can  assure  the  reader  that  one  thriftless 
gardener  or  amateur,  whose  enthusiasm  July  has 
withered,  can  do  more  cursing  or  weed-seeding 
than  half  a  generation  can  eradicate.  My  con- 
science troubles  me  not  a  little  in  this  respect. 
Apart  from  the  profit  there  should  be  principle 
in  the  case.  Having  put  our  hands  to  the 
plough  in  April,  we  should  not  look  back  in 
August,  because  many  of  our  crops  are  gathered 
and  the  thing  is  becoming  an  old  story. 

But  having  more  faith  in  the  profit  argument 
than  any  based  on  principle,  we  hasten  to  as- 
sure the  reader  again,  that  if  he  hopes  for  con- 
tinued crops  and  considerable  cash,  he  must 
make  the  most  of  autumn. 

Not  to  be  invidious,  or  intimate  that  any  of 
my  readers  are  guilty  of  such  shortcomings, 
we  will  suppose  a  place  bought  of  one  of  the 
unregenerate,  and  the  new  and  agriculturally 
enlightened  owner  to  be  taking  possession. 


WHEN   TO    COMMENCE    A   GARDEN. 


Let  us  go  with  him,  take  notes,  and  watch  pro- 
ceedings. He  has  wisely  bought  his  place  in 
midsummer,  for  then  in  the  matured  growth  of 
everything  he  can  judge  better  of  the  strength 
and  nature  of  the  soil.  If  there  is  fruit  on  the 
place,  he  can  best  learn  its  character,  value,  and 
needs. 

As  we  pass  with  him  from  the  desert  high- 
road into  his  promised  land,  fruitful  in  great 
hopes  and  expectation  if  nothing  else,  we  ob- 
serve that  many  fruit-trees  need  pruning,  and 
others  heading  back  on  account  of  too  rapid 
growth.  Some  have  been  planted  closely  and 
are  crowding  each  other  ;  others  are  suffering 
from  the  shade  of  apparently  worthless  trees 
that  have  grown  up  around  them.  On  grafted 
fruit,  sprouts  and  boughs  have  started  below 
the  graft,  and  are  taking  all  the  strength  of  the 
root,  leaving  the  good  variety  to  dwindle.  For 
it  must  be  remembered  that  natural  and  com- 


152  WHEN  TO   COMMENCE   A   GARDEN. 

paratively  worthless  fruit  grown  from  the  seed, 
is  like  the  natural  man.  The  wild  nature  is 
very  apt  to  get  the  best  of  the  most  approved 
foreign  importation.  Thus  in  the  matter  of 
fruit-trees,  alone  there  is  much  to  be  done  before 
winter,  and  there  is  no  time  for  such  labors  in 
the  rush  of  spring  work 

As  we  pass  on,  we  observe  that  weeds  and 
bushes,  not  content  with  long  possession  of  the 
fences,  are  ever  encroaching  on  the  open 
ground.  Around  the  house  the  hardy  peren- 
nials and  annual  bulbs  are  nearly  all  past  their 
prime,  and  withering  stalks  and  sprawling 
bushes  take  the  place  of  their  early  bloom.  It 
is  indeed  now  too  late  to  do  much  toward  en- 
livening this  melancholy  domain  of  flowers 
with  bright  and  varied  annuals  or  perpetual 
blooming  bedding  plants,  but  it  is  just  the  time 
to  see  their  need,  and  to  commence  preparing 
for  its  supply  another  year.  At  once  there 


WHEN   TO    COMMENCE    A    GARDEN.  153 

is  much  need  for  pruning-knife,  stake,  and 
twine,  that  neatness  at  least  may  gratify  the 
eye. 

But  we  pass  on  to  the  garden.  There  is 
scope  for  any  amount  of  energy  in  remedying 
the  past  and  providing  for  the  future. 

The  raspberries  and  blackberries  are  done 
bearing,  but  the  producing  vines  are  left,  draw- 
ing their  useless  life  from  the  strength  of  the 
plants,  and  taking  from  the  growth  of  the  new 
wood  that  must  produce  the  following  year. 
Leaving  these  old  vines  after  they  have  done 
bearing,  is  like  tying  a  horse  after  a  journey, 
on  the  side  of  a  hill,  where  he  must  stand  pull- 
ing to  no  purpose.  They  will  be  cut  out  at 
once,  and  not  burned,  but  carried  to  the  com- 
post heap,  where,  covered  with  weeds  and  rub- 
bish they  will  decay,  so  that  they  can  be  used 
the  following  season.  Rotted,  they  will  be 
worth  more  than  their  ashes,  and  the  successful 


154  WHEN  TO    COMMENCE   A   GARDEN. 

gardener  is  ever  looking  keenly  after  fertilizers. 
The  sprawling  Black-cap  varieties  are  tied  up 
so  that  the  wood  may  ripen  before  winter,  and 
if  new  plants  are  wanted,  the  tips  of  the  vines 
are  slightly  covered. 

The  strawberry-bed  is  weedy  and  matted ; 
indeed,  all  run  together.  Yet  it  is  worth 
saving.  It  is  but  two  years  old,  and  another 
crop  may  be  had  from  it.  So  spaces  eighteen 
inches  wide  are  cut  through  it,  and  weeds  and 
plants  turned  deeply  under.  By  this  process, 
rows  a  foot  in  width  are  left  between  the  spaces, 
and  these  must  be  weeded  by  hand.  Or,  if 
the  bed  is  sufficiently  extended,  the  same  pro- 
cess can  be  performed  by  a  plough,  a  space  of 
three  feet  being  turned  under,  and  another  of 
plants  eighteen  inches  wide  left  for  fruiting. 
If  the  bed  has  become  very  full  of  grass  or  white 
clover,  it  will  be  turned  under  at  once,  and  a 
new  one  set  out  elsewhere. 


WHEN  TO   COMMENCE   A   GARDEN.  155 

There  is  a  space  that  was  planted  in  early 
peas.  The  vines  are  still  sprawling  about  or 
clinging  to  the  old  bush.  Unless  the  latter  are 
of  cedar,  or  of  some  good  hard  wood,  the  whole 
rubbish  is  swept  away  to  the  compost  heap .  The 
ground  is  then  clear  and  can  be  prepared  for 
a  fall  or  spring  crop.  If  July  has  not  passed,  and 
good  strong  celery  plants  can  be  had,  these  may 
be  set  out  at  once.  If  it  is  about  the  loth  of 
August,  the  early  yellow-stone  or  strap-leaved 
turnips  can  still  be  sown.  But  we  will  even 
suppose  August  on  the  wane,  and  that  our  new 
and  eager  purchaser  can  do  little  more  with  his 
ground  that  can  make  any  return  this  year. 

Still,  having  read  some  better  book  than  this, 
or  having  had  his  eyes  opened  by  experience, 
his  own  or  that  of  some  one  else,  he  does  not 
dream  of  waiting  till  the  following  spring,  but 
with  hearty  vigor,  commences  at  once. 

Those  old  withering  cucumber- vines  are  swept 


156  WHEN  TO   COMMENCE   A   GARDEN. 

away,  and  the  flourishing  weeds  with  them.  If 
the  ground  is  rich,  sloping,  with  excellent  drain- 
age, he  can  sow  onion  seed  there  immediately, 
and  market  the  crop  in  April  following.  The 
early  potatoes  are  dug,  or  can  be,  and  thus  there 
is  a  place  to  set  out  a  new  strawberry-bed.  The 
sweet  corn  will  be  out  of  the  way  this  month. 
He  will  not  leave  the  earless  stalks  to  wither, 
and  dry  up  where  they  stand.  Here  and  there 
one  may  be  left  with  an  exceedingly  fine  ear  for 
seed.  But  with  the  rest,  as  fast  as  the  ears  are 
used,  the  stalks  will  go  to  the  cows,  or  if  he  has 
none,  they  will  be  buried  in  their  green  succulent 
state,  under  the  compost  heap.  Well  buried 
too  ;  or  else,  even  though  half  the  garden  were 
planted  in  mignonette,  the  decaying  corn,  so 
sweet  and  wholesome  in  life,  will  now  render 
the  region  anything  but  savory.  The  land  thus 
cleared  will  no  doubt  be  sown  with  spinach. 
Then  there  is  ground  where  early  cabbage  and 


WHEN   TO    COMMENCE   A   GARDEN.  157 

cauliflower  were  grown.  The  onions  are  dry 
enough  to  gather,  the  bush-beans  are  past  their 
prime,  and  if  not  desired  for  use  in  their  dry 
state,  they  also  can  be  swept  away.  The  late 
and  refuse  pods  that  are  left  after  the  vines  have 
been  picked  over  many  times  do  not  contain 
seed  fit  for  planting. 

Thus  here  and  there  through  the  garden  spaces 
can  be  cleared  which  may  be  sown  with  spinach, 
dwarf  German  greens,  or  "sprouts,"  or  set  out 
with  small  refuse  onions  that  will  be  fit  for  mar- 
ket in  their  green  state,  in  April  and  May  follow- 
ing. In  early  September  lettuce  can  be  sown 
and  wintered  over  as  will  hereafter  be  explained. 
This  last-named  vegetable,  properly  managed, 
can  be  made-  very  profitable,  if  partially  grown 
in  the  fall.  The  same  is  true  of  cabbage  and 
cauliflower  plants  kept  over  through  the  winter 
for  early  planting.  No  amount  of  effort  and  ex- 
pense with  hot-beds  in  February  and  March  can 


158  WHEN   TO   COMMENCE   A   GARDEN. 

secure  plants  that  will  mature  as  early  for  market 
as  those  preserved  from  the  preceding  season  in 
cold  frames. 

Thus  we  have  seen  the  new  and  enlightened 
possessor  of  a  neglected  place  go  to  work  in  the 
autumn  as  zealously  as  do  the  majority  in  spring, 
and  when  spring  comes  he  is  two  or  three 
months  in  advance  of  his  neighbors.  While 
they  are  breaking  up  and  planting  their  ground 
at  great  expense,  and  are  compelled  to  wait  till 
midsummer  for  returns,  he  is  selling  crops  win- 
tered over,  thus  meeting  the  heavy  drafts  upon 
his  purse  entailed  by  the  extra  work  and  outlay 
of  the  opening  season. 

When  the  dying  leaves  begin  to  fall  in  Octo- 
ber, my  garden  is  almost  as  green  with  growing 
crops  as  in  the  following  May,  and  usually  I  have 
been  able  to  winter  them  over  without  great 
difficulty.  Thus,  instead  of  waiting  till  June  and 
July  before  receiving  anything  from  my  ground, 


WHEN   TO    COMMENCE   A   GARDEN.  159 

my  sales  on  the  last  day  of  April  amounted  to 
one  hundred  and  seventeen  dollars,  and  on  the 
last  of  May  to  two  hundred  and  eighty  dollars. 
The  heavy  and  unusual  expenses  of  spring  were 
therefore  partially  met  in  the  spring. 

It  is  true  that  farther  to  the  north  and  on  cold, 
wet  soils  the  difficulty  of  wintering  over  crops 
would  be  much  greater  ;  but  it  is  also  true  that 
in  light  soils  -and  sheltered  locations  farther 
south,  the  facility  of  so  doing  would  be  much 
greater  than  in  our  latitude.  So  much  in  favor 
of  an  autumn  rather  than  a  spring  commence- 
ment of  a  garden  already  in  a  fair  state  of  culti- 
vation. 

But  if  the  reader  has  taken  a  new  piece  of 
ground  that  must  be  broken  in  for  the  first  time, 
the  argument  for  this  course  is  doubly  strong. 
If  he  waits  till  spring  he  almost  loses  a  year.  If 
there  are  stones,  rocks,  bushes,  or  stumps  upon 
it,  he  cannot  clear  it  up  in  spring  sufficiently 


l6o  WHEN   TO   COMMENCE   A   GARDEN. 

early  to  raise  much  that  season,  but  in  the  long 
autumn  months  he  can  work  marvellous  changes. 
Even  if  we  have  nothing  more  to  contend  with 
than  a  stiff  sod  on  the  land,  great  advantages  are 
secured  by  breaking  it  up  in  autumn.  If  this  is 
done  in  August,  it  will  rot  sufficiently  by  Novem- 
ber to  permit  deep  cross  ploughing.  The  de- 
cay of  the  sod  can  be  greatly  hastened  by  giving 
it  a  coating  of  stable  manure  before  it  is  turned 
under,  and  at  the  same  time  it  will  go  far  toward 
giving  the  land  the  necessary  degree  of  fertility. 
For  it  must  be  remembered  that  no  field,  how- 
ever good  its  condition  for  farm  crops,  is  rich 
enough  for  the  exactions  of  garden,  nor  can  one 
year's  culture,  nor  the  highest  degree  of  fertiliz- 
ing bring  it  into  a  proper  state.  Under  the  best 
management  it  requires  time.  But  we  gain  al- 
most a  year  if  we  commence  in  autumn.  In  the 
first  place  the  heavy  coat  of  manure  upon  the 
sod  assists  greatly  in  its  decay.  By  the  edge  of 


WHEN  TO   COMMENCE   A   GARDEN.  l6l 

winter  both  are  ready  to  crumble  into  soil  and 
the  ground  can  be  thoroughly  and  deeply  cross- 
ploughed.  This  gives  the  frost  a  chance  to 
sweeten  and  pulverize  it.  In  the  spring  it 
should  be  again  well  enriched,  ploughed  deeply, 
and  planted  in  early  potatoes,  sweet  corn,  peas, 
and  similar  summer  crops  that  would  secure  good 
cultivation.  By  July  and  August  these  crops 
are  gathered  and  your  land  is  clear.  Again  ma- 
nure it  heavily,  plough  deeply,  very  deeply  with 
a  "  lifting  subsoil  plough,"  and  now  your  ground 
can  be  laid  out  as  you  desire,  and  in  one  short 
year  will  be  in  as  high  a  state  of  culture  and  fer- 
tility as  the  majority  of  gardens  around  you. 

Still  if  you  are  bent  on  grand  success,  you 
will  not  be  half  satisfied,  but  by  most  liberal 
cultivation  will  secure  increasingly  large  returns 
as  the  years  roll  on. 

By  the  course  described,  however,  you  can 

lay  out  your  garden  in  accordance  with  your  ap- 
11 


162  WHEN  TO   COMMENCE   A   GARDEN. 

proved  plan  in  the  autumn  following  your  com- 
mencement, and  the  summer  crops  as  described 
will  go  far  toward  paying  the  expenses  of  the 
first  year.  In  August  and  September  your 
strawberry-beds  can  be  set,  spring  crops 
planted,  and  in  October,  cold  frames  made, 
raspberries,  blackberries,  currants,  trees,  and 
grape-vines  set  out,  and  you  are  fairly  launched. 


XI. 

WE  WILL  GO  TO  WORK. 

PERHAPS  we  have  talked  long  enough  on 
general  principles,  suggestions  at  large,  and  had 
now  better  go  practically  to  work  and  produce 
that  two  thousand  dollars  announced  in  the 
opening  chapter.  I  will  commence  consistently 
with  my  theory,  in  August  of '70,  but  will  speak 
only  of  such  operations  as  brought  returns  the 
following  year. 

Our  old-fashioned  one  o'clock  dinner  is  over, 
and  books  now  mean  dyspepsia,  but  gardening, 
as  I  practise  it,  is  health.  In  the  first  place,  I 
repair  to  the  ancient  central  apple-tree  to  pro- 
vide strategy. 

Manufacturing  it,  as  did  the  generals  of  the 


164  WE   WILL   GO   TO   WORK. 

old  school,  I  sit  down  before  the  problem.  It 
is  not  necessary  that  my  forces  should  assume 
this  contemplative  attitude  also.  They  can  work 
away  at  those  Philistines,  the  weeds,  wherever 
they  show  themselves,  while  I  develop  such  def- 
inite, decisive  steps  as  are  possible  to  one  also 
burdened  with  the  duty  of  digesting  a  dinner. 
The  mid-day  sun  is  still  intense,  and  I  progress 
with  my  strategy  with  an  eye  to  its  westward 
decline.  But  as  the  vertical  rays  cease,  as  the 
cool  shadows  creep  eastward,  I  step  forth  from 
my  retirement  with  the  air  of  one  resolved.  I 
determine,  in  the  first  place,  upon  making  a 
strawberry-bed  that  will  astonish  the  natives. 
Here  is  a  suitable  piece  of  ground  from  which 
some  early  crop  has  been  taken.  It  is  in  the 
main  a  sandy  loam,  a  little  too  light  in  some 
places  but  fair  throughout.  Having  had  it 
thoroughly  cleared,  leaving  not  a  sprig  of  white 
clover  or  sorrel,  for  however  deep  you  bury 


WE   WILL   GO   TO   WORK.  165 

them  they  are  apt  to  work  out  and  grow  (per- 
haps they  always  do,  on  the  China  side,  if  not 
this),  I  then  directed  Thomas  to  cover  it  with 
four  inches  of  the  very  best  manure.  This  was 
an  exceedingly  heavy  coat,  far  more  than  is 
usually  necessary,  but  I  was  bent  pn  producing 
some  extraordinary  results.  My  genial  land- 
lord, Mr.  David,  and  another  neighbor  happen- 
ing to  pass,  indulged  in  some  pleasantries  as  to 
the  flavor  of  strawberries  raised  under  the  cir- 
cumstances, but  I  knew  well  that  Nature,  with 
ten  months  to  work  in,  was  too  skilful  an  al- 
chemist to  make  any  such  mistakes.  So  the 
limited  piece  of  ground  was  dug  very  deeply 
and  made  almost  as  rich  as  a  hot-bed.  Then 
commenced  the  gradual  setting  of  plants,  grad- 
ual, because  it  was  a  dry  time,  and  the  sun  still 
scorchingly  hot  at  mid-day.  Therefore  I  directed 
that  the  plants  should  be  set  out  only  in  the  even- 
ing, a  few  at  a  time,  and  well  watered.  After- 


1 66  WE   WILL   GO   TO   WORK. 

wards  they  were  shaded  during  the  heat  of  the 
day  till  they  became  well  rooted  and  could  take 
care  of  themselves.  This  shade  can  be  provided 
by  leaning  a  board  over  a  row  supporting  it  by 
a  couple  of  stakes  or  small  stones.  If  appear- 
ances are  not  regarded,  old  raspberry  bushes, 
pea-vines,  anything  that  will  shade  the  young 
plants  without  smothering  them,  will  answer. 
The  relief  given  by  a  little  shade  is  wonderful, 
and  plants  will  grow  in  the  hottest  weather  when 
so  protected.  Where  the  variety  is  valuable 
and  scarce,  they  should  always  be  so  treated 
when  set  out  in  a  warm,  dry  time. 

Of  course,  if  I  could  have  made  my  bed  just 
before  a  good  shower  or  a  night's  rain,  no  such 
precautions  would  have  been  needed,  and  the 
plants  would  have  grown  without  further  care. 

"  Why  not  wait  then  till  the  shower  comes  ?  " 
some  may  ask. 

When  will  it  come  ?     Yet  many  days  perhaps. 


WE   WILL   GO   TO   WORK.  167 

Or  it  may  be  when  I  am  away,  and  I,  instead  of 
my  plants,  will  be  caught  in  it.  Or  it  will  beat 
its  musical  tattoo  on  the  roof  after  you  are  gone 
to  bed.  What  can  you  then  do  about  it  ?  More 
than  likely  it  will  come  on  Sunday,  and  even  in 
this  lax  age  of  Sabbath  keeping,  setting  out  a 
strawberry-bed  would  hardly  be  esteemed  an 
act  of  "  necessity  or  mercy."  "  He  that  regard- 
eth  the  clouds  shall  not  reap,"  nor  get  his  straw- 
berry-bed made  in  due  season.  The  earlier  you 
can  set  your  plants  in  summer  or  fall  the  better 
your  crop  the  following  season,  and  I  determined 
to  lose  not  a  day  in  starting  mine  and  assisting 
Nature  through  the  "dry-spell."  At  the  same 
time,  if  the  rain  comes,  the  provident  gardener 
will  do  his  best  to  make  the  most  of  it.  If  he 
intends  setting  out  plants  he  will  have  them 
ready,  and  the  ground  also,  and  then  when  the 
western  horizon  darkens,  and  the  mutter  of  dis- 
tant thunder  is  heard,  or  when  the  east  wind 


1 68  WE   WILL  GO  TO  WORK. 

comes  sighing  in  from  the  ocean,  the  avant 
courier  of  the  coming  storm,  he  makes  every 
moment  tell  in  the  putting  out  of  plants,  know- 
ing that  the  refreshing  rain-drops  can  do  more 
for  them  in  one  hour  than  can  be  done  by  days 
of  shading  and  watering.  But  with  us  the  thun- 
der gusts  seem  to  hide  behind  the  mountains  till 
all  prepared,  and  then  to  swoop  down  so  sud- 
denly that  we  are  flying  for  shelter  from  the  big 
drops  before  we  realized  that  they  were  com- 
ing. Only  too  often  they  raise  their  black 
heads  in  the  west,  and  seem  coming  right  down 
upon  us  with  such  abundant  promise  that  hope 
and  expectation  are  raised  to  the  highest  pitch ; 
then  suddenly,  as  if  attracted  by  some  blue 
Highland  in  the  distance,  they  appear  to  change 
their  minds,  and,  like  the  Levite  in  the  parable, 
"pass  by  on  the  other  side."  If,  beguiled  by 
hopes  of  a  shower,  you  have  set  out  plants 
largely,  then  watering  and  shading  is  your  only 


WE    WILL    GO    TO   WORK.  169 

chance  of  saving  them.  My  plan,  as  I  have 
said,  was  to  set  out  a  few  plants  every  night  and 
take  care  of  them,  to  have  plants  and  ground 
ready,  and  then  if  there  came  rain  to  get  out 
beforehand  as  many  as  possible.  When  my 
bed  was  half  filled  it  did  come,  and  by  prompt 
action  the  rest  of  the  ground  was  covered  in 
time  to  catch  the  precious  drops.  But  those 
first  set  out  were  growing  vigorously  in  spite  of 
dry  weather,  and  after  the  rain  they  went  for- 
ward with  a  bound,  far  exceeding  the  others. 

By  the  first  of  September,  therefore,  my  bed 
was  filled  with  strong  and  thrifty  plants  of  the 
following  varieties  :  Two  rows  of  the  Wilson, 
two  of  Durand  Seedling,  one  of  the  Russell,  one 
of  the  Agriculturist,  two  of  the  Triomphe  de 
Gand,  and  one  of  the  Jucunda.  I  thought  by 
placing  the  celebrated  varieties  side  by  side 
under  specially  favorable  culture,  I  might  learn 
which  was  the  best.  The  result  with  all  was 


I  70  WE   WILL    GO   TO    WORK. 

astonishing.  A  soldier  who  saw  a  basket  of 
them  thought  they  were  tomatoes.  The  Wil- 
sons of  course  bore  the  largest  number,  and  the 
berries  also  were  very  large,  but  many  of  the 
other  named  varieties  were  simply  monstrous, 
and  they  all  seemed  nearly  equal  in  this  instance 
in  vigor  and  productiveness,  except  the  Jucun- 
das,  and  though  these  bore  as  large  berries  as 
any,  the  vines  were  rather  feeble  and  inclined 
to  die  out.  For  large,  showy  berries,  few,  if  any, 
surpass  the  Jucundas,  and  with  high  culture  on 
a  heavy  soil,  and  kept  rigorously  in  hills,  they 
will  produce  fruit  that  will  stop  a  man  running 
for  a  train,  should  it  meet  his  eye.  At  a  fash- 
ionable Broadway  fruit  store,  they  would  bring 
almost  any  price  asked,  but  they  would  be  like 
many  of  their  wealthy  purchasers,  rather  insipid 
and  hollow.  As  grown  in  my  grounds  their 
flavor  is  not  to  be  mentioned  in  the  same  week 
with  the  Russell  and  Triomphe.  Still  they  are 


WE   WILL   GO   TO   WORK. 


growing  in  favor,  especially  as  a  market-berry, 
and  doubtless  are  just  the  thing  grown  in  hills 
on  heavy  land. 

The  Durand  Seedling  has  not  done  as  well 
with  me  as  it  at  first  promised.  Its  foliage  has 
seemed  somewhat  delicate  and  unable  to  endure 
the  hot  sun,  and  though  producing  some  very 
large  fruit,  many  of  the  blossoms  failed,  and 
in  shade  the  berries  would  "  damp  off"  and 
decay.  But  with  careful  hill  culture  on  light 
soils,  I  should  think  it  might  prove  one  of  the 
best  among  the  large  varieties.  The  fruit  of 
the  Agriculturist  also  tended  somewhat  to 
scalding  and  decay,  but  with  open  row  or  hill 
culture  on  a  light  soil  it  does  wonders.  As 
grown  upon  the  bed  described,  the  Russell 
would  make  one  of  the  finest  varieties  in  exist- 
ence, if  it  were  only  a  little  firmer.  Summing 
up  the  results  of  the  experiment,  it  may  be  said 
that  the  Wilsons  gave  the  largest  yield,  while  in 


WE   WILL   GO   TO   WORK. 


view  of  their  firmness,  size,  as  well  as  the  other 
good  qualities,  the  Triomphes  perhaps  bore 
away  the  palm. 

But  I  can  emphatically  assure  the  reader  that 
the  first  crop  upon  the  bed,  though  made  with 
so  much  pains  and  cost,  more  than  paid  all  ex- 
penses. At  the  close  of  this  chapter  I  will  also 
describe  another  crop  raised  upon  the  same 
ground  at  the  same  time. 

I  give  the  issue  of  this  little  experiment  in  this 
place  in  order  that  it  may  stand  in  direct  connec- 
tion with  the  rather  elaborate  preparation,  and 
satisfy  the  reader  that  unusual  outlay  will  often 
secure  unusual  return.  But  my  special  reason 
for  so  doing  is  to  show  that  strawberry-beds  set 
out  in  autumn  will  give  a  handsome  crop  the 
following  season,  thus  saving  a  year  to  the  im- 
patient gardener,  and  the  gain  of  a  year  even  in 
the  matter  of  strawberries  is  no  trifling  matter 
in  our  transient  life.  I  admit  that  on  most  soils, 


WE   WILL   GO   TO   WORK.  173 

and  under  most  circumstances,  the  plants  are 
more  certain  to  grow  if  set  out  in  early  spring. 
If  I  had  to  buy  my  vines  at  a  distance,  or  was 
about  to  invest  in  some  new  and  costly  variety, 
I  should  prefer  spring  by  all  means.  But  if  I 
had  plenty  of  young  plants  in  my  own  garden, 
or  could  obtain  them  of  a  near  neighbor,  I  should 
be  equally  in  favor  of  summer  and  fall  planting. 
Vines  set  out  in  spring  will  produce  nothing 
worth  speaking  of  that  season,  and  should  not 
be  permitted  to  bear  at  all,  whereas  by  early 
summer  planting,  and  the  extra  care  possible  in 
a  small  garden,  a  large  crop  can  be  had  the  fol- 
lowing June.  For  instance,  my  strong  plants 
commence  throwing  out  runners  rapidly  even  in 
June  while  fruiting.  If  I  were  anxious  to  ob- 
tain new  runners,  and  made  the  ground  rich 
and  mellow  around  the  producing  plants,  there 
would  be  plenty  fit  for  transplanting  in  early 
July.  As  we  have  before  described,  there  are 


174  WE   WILL   GO   TO   WORK. 

many  spaces  throughout  the  garden  that  were 
occupied  by  early  potatoes,  peas,  etc.,  which 
can  now  be  cleared  up  and  set  out  with  straw- 
berries. Two  of  my  finest  beds  for  '73  were  set 
out  last  July.  Thus,  from  a  small  bed  of  good 
strong  plants,  runners  can  be  taken  for  trans- 
planting from  4th  of  July  till  the  middle  of  Oc- 
tober, and  as  fast  as  crops  mature  in  summer 
they  can  be  gathered,  and  the  land,  if  desired, 
can  at  once  be  occupied  with  this  most  delicious 
small  fruit.  I  had  in  '72  a  small  bed,  fifteen 
feet  by  thirty,  of  a  very  choice  kind,  one  indeed 
that  promises  better  than  any  I  ever  raised  (I 
have  tried  at  least  twenty  varieties),  and  from 
this  limited  area  I  obtained  plants  enough,  with- 
out special  effort,  to  set  out  a  large  portion  of  my 
garden  before  October,  besides  many  which  were 
given  away.  I  made  my  rows  two  feet  apart, 
and  early  plantings  were  set  out  two  and  three 
feet  from  each  other  in  the  row ;  but  those  vines 


WE    WILL    GO    TO    WORK.  175 


put  out  in  July  and  August  also  threw  out  run- 
ners, and  by  October  filled  the  rows  close  up 
with  plants.  If  I  had  not  been  anxious  to  pro- 
duce new  vines,  I  would  not  have  permitted  this, 
as  the  young  beds  would  have  been  much 
stronger,  and  in  better  condition  for  bearing,  if 
all  runners  had  been  cut  from  them.  It  is  true 
that  this  variety  is  the  most  vigorous  grown  on 
my  soil  that  I  have  ever  seen.  Having  once 
marked  its  dark-green  foliage,  its  red  stocky 
leaf-stems  and  runners,  you  would  always  recog- 
nize it  afterwards  even  at  a  distance.  Much  of 
its  fruit  was  immensely  large,  and  even  the  last 
pickings  from  my  small  bed  were  of  good  size. 
I  do  not  know  its  name  with  certainty,  but 
think  it  is  a  new  berry,  known  as  Boydan's  No. 
30.  In  the  spring  of '70  I  obtained  a  few  plants 
of  six  new  varieties,  and  put  them  out  in  rows 
side  by  side.  A  man  weeding  them  carelessly 
carried  off  the  labels,  so  I  was  able  to  distin- 


176  WE   WILL   GO   TO   WORK. 

guish  only  one  kind,  the  Kentucky  Seedling. 
In  '71  they  all  fruited  finely,  but  none  proved 
so  satisfactory  as  this  unknown  friend  who  had 
lost  his  name.  But  true  worth  will  assert  itself 
under  all  circumstances,  while  the  utmost  flour- 
ish in  title  will  not  long  shield  the  unworthy  or 
common-place.  I  promoted  the  stranger  by 
digging  up  all  the  others  save  the  Kentucky, 
and  giving  him  a  chance  to  "  spread  himself," 
which  he  immediately  did,  proving  that,  like  the 
successful  men  of  the  world,  he  only  wanted  half 
a  chance.  In  the  summer  of  '71 ,  I  set  out  a  small 
bed  of  this  variety,  and  in  '72  obtained  a  won- 
derful yield  from  the  same.  The  berry  is  grown 
on  tall  fruit  stalks,  but  which  are  unable  to  sus- 
tain the  weight  of  the  enormous  berries.  There- 
fore they  should  be  mulched,  .that  is,  straw, 
leaves,  or  green  grass  cut  in  summer,  should  be 
placed  around  the  plants.  This  keeps  the 
ground  around  them  moist,  greatly  enhances  the 


WE   WILL   GO   TO   WORK.  177 

crop,  and  also  prevents  the  fruit  from  lying  on 
the  ground,  thus  becoming  covered  with  earth 
and  grit.  The  berries  have  a  long  neck,  making 
the  hulling  process  easy  ;  they  are  firm,  solid, 
with  a  rich  crimson  flush  throughout. 

*As  I  have  said,  I  was  so  pleased  with  this 
variety,  that  in  the  summer  and  fall  of  '72  I  set 
out  a  large  portion  of  my  garden  with  it,  and 
should  it  turn  out  as  well  another  season,  one 
need  not  ask  a  more  profitable  business  than 
raising  them.  Mr.  Thomas  Skene  is  trying  this 
variety  in  the  greenhouse  this  winter,  and  so 
by  spring  we  will  know  its  value  for  forcing. 

As  before  intimated,  another  crop  equally 
fragrant,  and  perhaps  taking  the  world  at  large 
almost  an  equal  favorite,  was  raised  at  the  same 
time  on  the  strawberry-bed  described  above. 
I  refer  to  the  aromatic  onion.  As  soon  as  the 
rows  were  filled  with  plants  in  '70,  the  little 

black   seed   of  the  large  red,  and   the  yellow 
12 


178  WE   WILL   GO   TO   WORK. 

Danvers  varieties  were  sown  between  them.  At 
that  warm  season  it  was  but  a  few  days  before 
the  little  onions  were  pricking  through  the  soil 
thick  as  hair.  I  had  ordered  plenty  of  seed 
sown,  knowing  that  the  plants  would  have  to 
run  the  gauntlet  of  the  winter  frosts.  Indeed, 
the  whole  thing  was  an  experiment,  for  I  never 
knew  of  its  being  done  in  our  latitude,  and  could 
find  no  instruction  in  the  books  on  the  subject. 
Nevertheless,  the  presumptuous  onions  grew 
sturdily  on,  without  the  countenance  of  any 
"  authority  "  or  known  precedent,  and  in  winter 
they  varied  in  height  from  six  inches  to  one 
foot.  The  same  covering  put  over  the  straw- 
berry-bed also  protected  them,  and  in  spring 
they  nearly  all  came  out  as  bright  as  if  they  had 
only  had  a  good  nap,  and  were  just  wakened. 
Then  a  spirit  of  emulation  seemed  to  spring  up 
between  them  and  the  strawberry  vines.  Side 
by  side,  "  neck  and  neck,"  they  went  forward 


WE    WILL    GO   TO    WORK.  179 

together.  Many  laughed  to  see  these  rather 
dissimilar  products  of  nature  growing  so  amica- 
bly in  company.  But  the  strawberry,  with  an 
inherent,  not  a  borrowed  nobility,  "  put  on  no 
airs  "  towards  its  useful  and  humble  neighbor. 
The  same  warm  winter  covering  sheltered  both. 
They  both  drew  from  one  enriched  soil  the 
elements  of  prosperity.  In  brief,  the  condi- 
tions that  were  favorable  for  one  were  also  for 
both,  and  side  by  side  they  went  on  and 
developed  in  accordance  with  their  own  laws 
and  nature,  thus  setting  an  excellent  example  to 
the  wealthy  and  working  classes.  Indeed,  that 
intermingled  strawberry  and  onion  bed  was  a 
profound  essay  on  political  economy,  teaching 
that  all  classes  can  prosper  together,  not  by  be- 
coming alike,  and  reducing  society  to  dreary 
monotony,  but  by  each  one  carrying  out  with- 
out hindrance  or  prejudice  its  own  germinal 
character  in  the  most  pronounced  diversity. 


l8o  WE    WILL    GO   TO    WORK. 

That  is  a  wretched  soil  that  only  suits  one 
genus  of  plants.  In  an  equally  miserable  con- 
dition is  that  society  where  only  one  class  pros- 
pers, even  though  in  its  conceit  it  calls  itself 
the  "  best  class." 

In  imagination  I  see  some  pseudo-political 
economist,  some  champion  of  the  development 
of  the  upper-class,  at  the  expense  of  all  the 
others,  bristling  with  indignation,  and  perhaps 
purple  with  offended  pride. 

"  I  don't  believe  in  such  associations,"  he  ex- 
claims haughtily.  "  Your  plebeian  onions  will 
affect  the  flavor  of  the  patrician  strawberry,  just 
as  the  upper  classes  tone  down  and  deteriorate 
as  they  mingle  with  inferiors.  Separation,  sir, 
separation — Chinese  walls — these  are  the  hope 
of  blue  blood." 

"Your  premise  is  false,  sir,  as  it  usually  is, 
and  therefore  your  conclusion  is  wrong.  The 
onion  growing  by  the  strawberry  has  no  influ- 


WE   WILL   GO   TO  WORK.  l8l 

ence  on  its  flavor  whatever.  Your  artificial 
noblemen  no  doubt  need  careful  nursing  and 
'  Chinese  walls ; '  but  those  who  have  received 
their  patent  from  Heaven  will  develop  as  noble- 
men and  live  as  such  under  all  circumstances, 
even  as  my  Triomphes  produced  the  most  lus- 
cious vinous-flavored  fruit,  though  a  thrifty 
onion  grew  a  few  inches  away." 

But  I  am  wandering.  The  garden  is  so  sug- 
gestive of  all  kinds  of  truth  that  one  can  hardly 
help  it.  I  suppose  that  is  the  reason  the  first 
man  was  placed  in  one,  since  in  learning 
gardening  he  would  learn  almost  everything 
else. 

I  will  immediately  descend  from  political 
economy  and  social  science  to  onions,  a  long  de- 
scent some  may  think,  and  yet  in  strength  this 
theme  will  outrank  most  others. 

I  will  close  with  a  few  practical  sentences  be- 
fitting this  useful  but  much  abused  vegetable. 


182  WE   WILL   GO   TO   WORK. 

It  was  my  expectation  that  the  onions  between 
the  strawberry  rows  would  be  out  of  the  way 
long  before  the  fruit  was  ripe,  and  so  they  were, 
save  a  few  I  left  purposely  to  see  what  they 
would  come  to.  Even  in  March  my  gardener 
commenced  pulling  and  selling  them  in  their 
green  state,  and  by  May  ist  nearly  all  were  gone, 
realizing  the  snug  sum  of  forty  dollars.  This 
is  a  phase  of  the  subject  at  which  even  the  most 
aristocratic  will  not  elevate  their  noses.  The 
space  occupied  by  them  was  exceedingly  small. 
It  was  their  earliness,  their  large  green  succulent 
tops,  and  tendency  to  make  good-sized  bulbs, 
that  secured  such  prompt  sale  at  high  prices. 
They  stood  very  thickly  in  the  rows,  and  as  the 
largest  were  daily  culled  out,  those  remaining 
grew  rapidly,  and  filled  their  places. 

Those  that  I  left  to  mature  went  to  seed,  just 
as  a  large  bulb  set  out  in  the  spring  will,  and 
when  dry  the  strength  of  the  bulbs  had  gone  into 


WE   WILL   GO   TO   WORK.  183 

the  seed,  and  the  former  were  large  but  useless. 
If,  however)  the  seed-stalk  had  been  cut  away 
and  the  bulbs  used  in  their  green  state,  they 
would  have  been  most  excellent.  I  was  thus 
satisfied  that  a  very  early  and  profitable  crop  of 
onions  could  be  raised  from  seed  sown  in  Au- 
gust. 

My  next  experiment  was  to  sow  the  seed  late 
in  September,  so  that  the  plants  would  not  be 
large  enough  in  spring  to  run  up  to  seed,  but 
develop  large  bulbs,  as  in  the  case  with  seed 
sown  in  April.  If  the  plants  would  winter  over, 
no  matter  how  small  they  were,  the  crop  would 
be  far  earlier  than  any  that  could  be  started  with 
the  opening  season,  unless  it  be  from  what  are 
termed  "  sets  "  or  little  onions  put  out  as  soon 
as  the  frost  is  gone.  But  I  found  it  would  not 
answer.  Unless  the  seed  was  sown  in  August, 
the  plants  did  not  gain  size,  vigor,  and  root- 
power  enough  to  resist  the  winter.  Farther  to 


184  WE   WILL   GO  TO   WORK. 

the  south  though,  on  warm  light  soils,  I  should 
think  this  might  be  done  to  great  advantage. 
But  after  so  much  onion  the  reader  is  probably 
ready  to  take  a  tearful  farewell  of  this  chapter. 


XII. 

THE   CAMPAIGN  IN   SEPTEMBER. 

THERE  are  few  months  in  the  year  more 
attractive  than  September.  It  reminds  you  of 
that  alliterative  description  of  the  matured  lady, 
"fair,  fat,  and  forty  ;  "  and  he  is  but  a  shallow- 
brained  man  who  has  not  found  this  class  one 
of  the  most  attractive  in  society.  There  is  a 
beauty  of  autumn  as  well  as  of  spring,  of  age, 
as  of  youth.  I  have  great  hopes  of  that  boy 
who  is  enamored  by  a  lady  "  old  enough  to  be 
his  mother."  He  has  an  aspiring  soul  that 
dimly  recognizes  something  far  beyond  itself 
and  will  never  sink  satisfied  into  mediocrity. 
When  such  a  woman  grows  old  gracefully, 
sweetened  and  ripened  in  character  by  the  ac- 


1 86  THE    CAMPAIGN    IN   SEPTEMBER. 

tion  of  time,  she  is  a  most  charming  companion 
for  all.  The  infirmities  of  age  have  not  come, 
but  she  knows  that  they  are  near,  and  her  sym- 
pathies instinctively  go  out  to  those  who  are  (as 
she  soon  will  be)  bending  under  the  burden  of 
years.  Her  memory  of  youth  is  still  strong, 
and  she  turns  to  it,  and  to  those  in  its  enjoy- 
ment, with  a  remorseful  tenderness,  as  the  emi- 
grant looks  back  to  a  loved  familiar,  but  fading 
shore.  The  fitful  waywardness,  the  April  skies 
of  youth,  the  intense  feelings  and  passions  of 
midsummer  life,  are  passing  into  the  calm  and 
content  of  early  autumn.  She  is,  like  the 
season,  in  a  border  land  between  two  dissimilar 
states,  and  having  some  of  the  characteristics  of 
both. 

Flecks  of  gray  in  the  "bonny  brown  hair" 
may  awaken  regretful  thoughts  of  the  approach- 
ing frostiness  of  age,  just  as  in  early  September 
there  comes  sighing  through  the  trees  a  wind 


THE    CAMPAIGN    IN    SEPTEMBER.  187 

that  speaks  so  plainly  of  the  fading  year,  that 
we  are  saddened  in  spite  of  ourselves.  But 
when  through  all  experiences  she  has  kept  a 
young  heart,  it  will  often  show  itself  in  a  spright- 
liness,  a  spring-like,  youthful  manner,  just  as 
many  days  in  September  remind  you  of  May. 
Thus  the  lady  past  her  prime,  that  in  the  ordi- 
nary stock  novel  is  so  generally  sneered  at,  may 
be  a  most  gracious,  lovely  personage.  The 
memory  of  her  trials  and  temptations  in  youth, 
the  struggles  and  burdens  of  middle  age  on  one 
hand,  give  her  the  broadest,  deepest  charity  for 
those  still  passing  through  these  ordeals  ;  while 
on  the  other,  with  strength  undiminished,  as 
yet,  she  can  stay  the  tottering  steps  of  age  with 
a  peculiar  and  sympathetic  tenderness.  The 
graces  of  her  mind  and  character  are  like  the 
flowers  of  autumn.  There  is  no  longer  the 
growth  of  immature  foliage  and  wood,  but  all 
the  strength  of  the  plant  goes  into  rich  and 


1 88  THE   CAMPAIGN   IN   SEPTEMBER. 

varied  bloom.  The  garden  is  spring-like  again 
with  all  its  abundant  blossoms,  but  the  flowers 
are  larger,  deeper,  and  richer  in  their  coloring, 
more  perfect  in  their  form  than  ever  before. 
The  drooping  annuals  make  a  sudden  rapid 
growth,  all  the  "bedding-plants"  cover  them- 
selves with  renewed  beauty.  Pansies,  that  in 
hot  August  were  wee  "johnny-jumpers,"  be- 
come pansies  again,  with  great  staring,  human- 
like faces.  The  turf  grows  greener  and  more 
velvety,  and  all  nature  seems  to  say,  Let  us 
have  one  more  blessed  thrill  of  life  before  the 
frosts  of  death  fall.  Make  the  most  of  Septem- 
ber, for  you  will  have  nothing  like  it  till  May 
comes  round  again.  Alas !  May  comes  but 
once  in  human  life,  and  even  to  the  bravest  and 
most  beautiful,  autumn  must  grow  sere  and  sad 
painfully  fast,  when  there  is  no  hope  of  the 
"glory  that  fadeth  not  away."  Such  may  well 
cling  to  September. 


THE    CAMPAIGN   IN   SEPTEMBER.  189 

"Bother  all  this!"  growls  some  practical 
reader,  "  I  want  you  to  tell  me  how  to  plant 
spinach." 

And  so  my  sentiment  becomes  sandwiched 
between  an  onion  and  spinach-bed.  The  inter- 
ruption has  thoroughly  clipped  my  wings,  and 
the  rest  of  the  chapter  shall  be  satisfactory  even 
to  old  Money  Bags  himself. 

Spinach  should  be  sown  from  the  ist  to  the 
1 5th  of  this  month,  and  in  our  latitude  I  should 
have  the  best  expectations  from  seed  put  in  the 
ground  during  the  first  week.  Plants  that  have 
had  time  to  attain  good  size,  with  strong  long 
roots,  winter  over  the  best ;  and  where  you  can 
commence  selling  a  good  crop  in  April  it  is  very 
profitable.  No  great  skill  is  required  to  raise 
spinach.  Richness  of  soil  is  the  main  necessity 
for  either  a  summer  or  winter  crop.  Like  all 
vegetables  grown  for  their  foliage,. it  must  make 
a  rapid  growth  to  be  good.  Therefore  it  sue- 


1 90  THE    CAMPAIGN   IN   SEPTEMBER. 

ceeds  best  on  a  deep,  moist  soil,  but  one  thor- 
oughly drained,  where  no  water  or  ice  stands 
during  the  winter.  I  sow  my  seed  about  an 
inch  deep,  and  find  great  advantage  in  covering 
it  with  a  half-inch  or  more  of  well-rotted 
manure.  This  gives  it  a  fine  start,  and  seems 
to  prevent  in  some  degree  the  unfavorable 
action  of  frost.  I  have  used  the  Round-leaved 
variety,  and  believe  it  is  regarded  as  the  best 
both  for  fall  and  spring  sowing.  If  there  is 
any  moisture  in  the  ground,  the  seed  comes  up 
quickly,  and,  as  with  all  vegetables,  the  use  of 
the  hoe  hastens  the  growth. 

I  plant  my  rows  a  foot  apart  and  the  seed 
quite  thickly  in  the  row.  Then  in  spring  you 
cut  for  use  in  such  a  way  as  to  thin  out,  and  the 
remaining  plants  by  their  rapid  growth  will  fill 
up  the  space  as  fast  as  it  is  made,  so  that  the 
bed  seems  like  the  "  widow's  cruse  of  oil,"  con- 
stantly drawn  upon,  but  not  diminishing. 


THE    CAMPAIGN    IN   SEPTEMBER.  191 

But  I  seldom  make  a  spinach-bed  by  itself, 
using  instead  the  intervening  spaces  between 
other  things.  I  put  a  row  or  two  between  my 
hardy  raspberries,  blackcaps,  and  blackberries. 
Where  I  make  a  new  strawberry-bed  in  summer, 
I  sow  spinach  in  September  between  the  rows. 
The  same  covering  and  manure  answers  for 
both,  and  as  the  rows  are  two  feet  apart,  and 
the  spinach  is  marketed  in  April,  they  do  not 
interfere  with  each  other.  This  should  only  be 
done  the  first  fall,  and  on  highly  enriched  land  : 
after  that  the  strawberries  should  have  all  to 
themselves.  But  in  the  fall  and  spring  of  '70- 
71,  I  raised  fine  crops  in  this  way,  and  by  the 
time  winter  commenced  in  '72  there  must  have 
been  ten  or  fifteen  barrels  of  spinach  growing  on 
my  new  strawberry-beds.  The  heavy  body  of 
snow  has  protected  it  so  far,  and  if  the  spring  is 
favorable,  it  will  all  be  marketed  by  the  end  of 
the  first  week  in  May. 


192  THE    CAMPAIGN   IN    SEPTEMBER. 

In  addition  to  what  was  used  in  the  family  in 
the  spring  of  '7 1 ,  there  were  thirty-one  and  one- 
fourth  bushels  sold,  realizing  forty-six  dollars 
and  sixty-four  cents.  In  the  following  fall,  little 
seed  was  sown,  and  that  was  nearly  all  killed  out 
by  the  hard  open  winter.  But  the  fall  of  '72 
promised  a  crop  double  in  amount  to  any  I  have 
raised  before. 

The  seed  of  another  vegetable  belonging  to 
the  Kale  family  is  also  sown  in  September,  and 
its  culture  and  treatment  is  the  same  as  that  of 
spinach.  Dwarf  German  greens  or  "  sprouts  " 
is  the  variety  that  succeeds  best,  and  has  the 
readiest  sale.  Its  foliage  resembles  that  of  the 
Ruta-baga  Turnip,  and  it  is  cut  and  used  in  the 
spring  precisely  as  spinach.  Its  flavor  is  like 
that  of  the  cabbage,  but  more  delicate,  and 
coming  when  vegetables  are  scarce,  it  adds  to 
the  variety,  and  is  welcome.  Wherever  there 
are  Germans  there  is  no  difficulty  in  selling  it, 


THE    CAMPAIGN    IN   SEPTEMBER.  193 

and  Mr.  Henderson  states  that  sometimes  in  the 
vicinity  of  New  York  it  yields  a  crop  worth  five 
hundred  dollars  per  acre.  Sometimes  I  succeed 
in  wintering  it  over  very  nicely;  then  again  it 
dies  out.  It  requires  a  light  soil  and  a  covering 
of  very  coarse  litter  during  the  coldest  weather. 
In  the  spring  o/  '71,  nine  and  a  half  bushels  were 
sold  for  twelve  dollars — I  mention  the  sales  of 
spinach  and  kale,  in  connection  with  their  de- 
scription and  mode  of  cultivation,  as  space  will 
permit  me  to  refer  to  them  but  briefly  hereafter. 
It  will  be  seen  that  the  prices  were  high,  com- 
pared with  New  York  market,  but  my  gardener 
sold  the  bulk  at  retail,  or  in  small  quantities,  and 
so  received  the  sum  named. 

I  think  most  gardeners  would  find  it  very 
profitable  to  raise  these  vegetables,  especially 
spinach.  If  their  ground  were  light,  sloping, 
and  very  rich,  their  success  would  be  almost  cer- 
tain and  at  little  cost.  And  yet,  even  farmers 
13 


194  THE    CAMPAIGN    IN    SEPTEMBER. 

do  not  raise  these  crops  to  any  extent,  and  in 
April,  when  vegetables  are  so  few,  a  prompt  re- 
munerative sale  might  be  counted  upon  in  any 
locality. 

The  next  vegetable  started  in  the  fall  to 
which  I  shall  refer,  is  Lettuce,  and  with  me  it  has 
been  one  of  the  most  important  of  the  entire 
season.  I  have  sown  the  seed  with  the  best 
success  from  the  loth  to  the  2Oth  of  September. 
Any  fair  garden  ground  will  answer,  as  it  must 
be  taken  up  and  protected  in  cold  frames  the 
latter  part  of  October.  This  process  will  be 
described  in  the  next  chapter.  Therefore  the 
fall  operation  consists  only  in  raising  the  small 
plants,  and  this  does  not  require  much  ground. 
The  rows  can  be  sown  eight  inches  apart,  and 
the  only  cultivation  needed  is  to  keep  the 
ground  loose  and  free  from  weeds.  But  the 
selection  of  the  right  varieties  is  very  important ; 
and  as  Burr  describes  fifty-three  kinds,  including 


THE    CAMPAIGN    IN   SEPTEMBER.  195 

the  Cos  species,  and  as  the  seed  catalogues  are 
not  so  far  behind  him  in  their  bewildering  pro- 
fusion of  candidates  for  favor,  it  will  be  seen 
that  the  choice  is  not  "  Hobson's."  And  yet 
success  depends  upon  selecting  rightly.  Mr. 
Henderson  tells  us  how  he  lost  his  entire  crop 
of  early  lettuce  (a  very  important  one)  by  sow- 
ing, through  mistake,  the  best  summer,  instead 
of  the  best  spring  variety. 

As  the  favorite  kind  for  wintering  over  in 
cold  frames,  the  Early  Curled  Simpson  may  be 
named.  It  does  not  make  a  head,  but  forms 
a  large,  close,  compact  mass  of  leaves,  and  is  de- 
lightfully crisp  and  delicate  in  flavor  after  its 
rapid  spring  growth.  It  is  very  hardy,  and  I 
have  succeeded  well  in  wintering  it  over  in  the 
open  ground  with  a  slight  covering.  This 
should  be  the  main  crop  for  fall  sowing.  I 
have  also  used  three  other  varieties  to  great  ad- 
vantage. First,  the  Green  Winter,  which  is 


196  THE   CAMPAIGN    IN   SEPTEMBER. 

very  hardy,  and  will  generally  stand  the  sever- 
est cold.  It  makes  a  fine  head  early  in  spring, 
but  soon  runs  up  to  seed.  The  Tennis  Ball  is 
a  small  but  most  excellent  variety,  and  makes  a 
very  compact  head.  For  home  use  it  is  unsur- 
passed, and  it  is  one  of  the  best  for  forcing  in 
cold  frames,  as  it  takes  up  so  little  room.  The 
heads  can  be  grown  six  inches  apart  each  way. 
For  a  -  second  crop  in  the  spring  I  find  great 
advantage  in  wintering  over  a  large  number  of 
the  Black  Seeded  Butter  variety.  Strong 
plants  grown  the  previous  fall  attain  large  size 
in  May  in  the  open  ground.  Nothing  started 
in  hot-beds  in  February  or  March  can  compete 
with  them.  By  the  first  week  of  June,  this 
kind  makes  a  head  almost  as  large  as  a  cabbage, 
white  and  very  tender  and  delicate. 

It  is  always  well  to  try  to  winter  some  plants 
over  out  of  doors.  If  they  die,  the  loss  is 
slight,  as  the  seed  and  labor  cost  nothing  worth 


THE    CAMPAIGN   IN   SEPTEMBER.  197 

mentioning.  Select  a  warm  sheltered  place  in 
the  garden  where  no  ice  or  water  will  stand, 
and  sow  about  September  loth  some  seed  of 
each  of  the  four  varieties  named,  especially  of 
the  Green  Winter.  When  the  ground  begins  to 
freeze  hard,  cover  with  cedar  boughs  or  some 
very  coarse  litter.  Anything  that  will  settle 
down  closely  on  the  plants  will  cause  them  to  de- 
cay. They  may  come  out  in  the  spring  almost 
equal  to  those  in  the  cold  frames.  As  soon  as 
the  frost  is  out,  they  can  be  taken  up  and  forced 
under  glass,  or  set  in  the  open  ground,  where, 
from  their  hardiness,  they  will  soon  mature  for 
market. 

In  the  same  manner  as  lettuce  the  seed  of 
cabbage  or  cauliflower  can  be  sown  in  the  fall. 
In  our  latitude  it  should  not  be  planted  earlier 
than  the  5th  of  September,  or. the  plants  will 
run  up  to  seed  in  the  spring  instead  of  making 
heads  ;  nor  later  than  the  2Oth,  for  then  they 


198  THE    CAMPAIGN   IN    SEPTEMBER. 

will  be  too  small  to  stand  the  winter.  Like  let- 
tuce, they  can  be  started  in  a  small  bed  any- 
where in  the  garden,  and  left  to  grow  to  the 
middle  or  latter  part  of  October,  when  they 
must  be  removed  to  cold  frames,  as  will  be  here- 
after described.  I  would  advise  that  a  good 
sprinkling  of  lime  be  raked  into  the  land  on 
which  the  seed  is  to  be  sown,  and  that  the  cul- 
tivator see  to  it  that  none  of  the  Cabbage  fam- 
ily, and  also  that  neither  turnips  nor  radishes 
have  grown  on  the  ground  of  his  seed-bed  for 
a  year  or  two  previous.  Where  this  has  been 
the  case,  his  plants  will  be  very  apt  to  contract 
a  disease  known  as  club-root,  and  though  lime 
is  a  preventative,  he  would  have  no  certainty 
against  failure.  His  only  safety  is  to  use  lime 
or  bone-dust  freely,  and  to  sow  his  seed  where 
nothing  has  been  grown  for  two  or  three  years 
that  seems  to  draw  the  insect  so  fatal  to  the 
Cabbage  tribe. 


THE    CAMPAIGN    IN    SEPTEMBER.  199 

As  to  the  best  varieties  for  wintering  over,  the 
Jersey  Wakefield  is  the  favorite  around  New 
York.  I  have  had  very  good  success  with 
it.  The  head  is  of  fair  size,  and  the  outer 
leaves  are  so  few  that  it  requires  but  little  room, 
and  can  be  set  two  feet  apart  each  way,  or  even 
a  little  closer  if  ground  is  scarce.  The  Early 
York  matures  as  quickly,  but  is  nothing  like 
as  large,  and  the  Wakefield,  if  abundant,  would 
drive  it  from  the  market.  When  the  Early  Ox 
Heart  heads  well,  it  is  superior  in  quality  to 
the  others.  As  a  succession  coming  into 
market  two  or  three  weeks  later  than  the 
kinds  named,  the  early  Flat  Dutch  and  the 
Winningstadt  can  be  recommended.  The  lat- 
ter is  a  very  large,  solid  cabbage,  and  one 
that  can  be  depended  on  in  good  soil.  For  a 
village  or  local  market,  we  would  not  advise 
the  gardener  to  go  largely  into  cauliflower,  for 
the  majority  in  the  country  will  not  pay  much 


THE    CAMPAIGN    IN    SEPTEMBER. 


more  for  this  delicious  vegetable  than  for  a 
coarse  head  of  cabbage,  and  as  a  crop  it  is  very 
uncertain.  If  one  has  soil  suitable  for  it,  and 
can  develop  a  demand  at  high  prices,  it  will  pay 
well.  Early  Erfurt  and  Early  Parris  are  perhaps 
the  best  for  wintering  over. 

I  have  also  tried  the  experiment  of  sowing 
beet  seed  in  the  fall,  but  without  much  success. 
Noticing  that  some  small  beets  left  in  the  old  bed 
during  the  winter  developed  into  large  roots  very 
early  in  the  season,  it  occurred  to  me  that  by 
sowing  the  seed  in  September  they  might  live 
till  the  following  spring,  and  would  then  be  fit 
for  market  in  May,  when  they  would  bring  a 
large  price.  A  few  survived,  but  the  majority 
died  under  the  severe  frost.  I  do  not  think  my 
plants  attained  sufficient  size  before  winter,  and 
perhaps  with  greater  care  in  covering  more 
would  have  lived.  At  any  rate,  I  was  not 
satisfied  with  the  experiment,  and  shall  try  it 


THE    CAMPAIGN    IN    SEPTEMBER. 


again.      Farther  south  I  should  think  it  might 
be  done  with  great  success. 

It  is  natural  that  I  should  come  round  again 
to  the  globular  onion.  Is  there  not  a  weakness 
in  fallen  humanity  for  this  ancient  vegetable  ? 
The  "Chosen  People"  loathed  the  "light 
bread,"  the  manna  from  Heaven,  but  "wept" 
regretfully  at  the  thought  of  the  "onion." 
Some  fair  theologians  may  regard  this  as  proof 
that  there  has  been  a  sad  breaking  down  in 
human  nature.  (I  wonder  if  they  never  eat 
onions  sliced  in  vinegar  on  the  sly,  when  no 
callers  are  expected.  The  cynical  world  is  so 
suspicious  of  the  indignant  disgust  at  onions.) 
Did  they  grow  in  Eden  ?  Could  they  have 
been  the  forbidden  fruit  ?  Certainly  no  mod- 
ern garden  of  fallen  man  is  regarded  as  com- 
plete without  them.  How  strong  must  have 
been  those  of  Egypt  when  a  whole  nation  wept 
at  the  very  thought  of  them  ! 


THE    CAMPAIGN   IN   SEPTEMBER. 


Despise  not  the  onion,  Miss  Angelica.  It  is 
classical,  nay,  more,  it  is  sacred.  Behold  the 
most  venerable  nation  of  the  world  in  tears — 
"  the  people  weeping  throughout  their  families, 
every  man  in  the  door  of  his  tent."  What  was 
the  touching  cause.  Memory — memory  of  the 
past — past  "  leeks,  onions,  and  garlic." 

Through  the  leeks y  Hebrew  patriotism,  forti- 
tude, and  faith  oozed  out,  and  unmanned,  they 
wept  aloud.  Thus  the  associations  of  mystery, 
antiquity,  and  sentiment,  as  well  as  deepest 
emotion,  centre  in  this  odorous  bulb.  Cease, 
then,  Angelica— cease,  artificial  society,  thy  un- 
just and  too  often  assumed  contempt  for  the 
onion.  Let  us  be  true. 

Braced  by  these  historical  memories,  and  the 
record  of  sales  on  my  cash-book,  I  shall  boldly 
refer  to  the  onion  whenever  occasion  requires ; 
and  I  now  proceed  to  state  I  have  found  great 
advantage  in  putting  many  of  my  "  sets  "  (small 


THE    CAMPAIGN    IN    SEPTEMBER.  203 

onions)  in  the  ground  during  September  and  at 
any  time  when  convenient.  I  use  the  largest  of 
my  sets  in  this  manner — those  that  would  go  to 
seed  in  the  spring  any  way,  and  also  any  refuse 
onions  that  I  have  or  can  buy  at  slight  cost. 
Occasionally  rows  of  this  vegetable  attaining  but 
little  size  have  not  been  used,  and  I  have  sim- 
ply let  them  stand  during  the  season.  In  Au- 
gust their  tops  die  down,  but  in  the  moist,  cool 
weather  of  September  they  start  and  grow 
again,  and  even  go  ahead  of  those  set  out,  and 
by  winter  are  strong  plants.  I  then  have  the 
ground  between  them  covered  with  light  and 
partly  decayed  manure,  and  this  keeps  the  frost 
from  heaving  them  out.  The  plants  themselves 
should  not  be  covered  deeply  with  anything, 
or  they  will  decay.  A  little  very  coarse  litter 
in  the  coldest  weather  is  all  that  is  necessary. 
From  beds  so  treated  the  onions  were  fit  for 


204  THE    CAMPAIGN   IN   SEPTEMBER. 

market  in  their  green  state  by  the  25th  of  March 
in  '71. 

Let  the  practical  reader  smack  his  lips  over 
the  closing  flavor  of  this  chapter,  and  forget  the 
sentiment  in  the  opening  pages. 


XIII. 

PREPARING  FOR  WINTER   QUARTERS. 

OCTOBER  has  come,  bringing  labors  abundant 
in  the  garden.  Every  day  now  may  be  made 
to  tell,  not  only  on  the  success  of  the  coming 
summers,  but  of  coming  years.  But  work 
is  play  in  the  cool,  brilliant  days  of  this 
most  beautiful  month,  and  every  inhalation 
of  the  bracing  air  over  the  fresh-turned  earth 
means  health  and  longer  life.  If  ministers 
and  brain-workers  generally  could  manage  to 
spend  October  in  the  varied  labors  now  required 
in  their  own  gardens,  they  would  not  break 
down  much  under  a  century.  I  say  their  own, 
for  I  doubt  whether  the  exercise  would  be  as 
beneficial  in  some  one  else's  garden.  The  work 


206  PREPARING    FOR   WINTER    QUARTERS. 

might  be  the  same,  but  a  certain  zest  would  be 
wanting,  just  as  a  glass  of  cider  is  rather  flat 
without  its  sparkle  and  carbonic  acid  gas.  Even 
ministers  have  not  reached  that  point  of  dis- 
interestedness which  would  enable  them  to  work 
in  a  neighbor's  garden  with  the  same  zeal  and 
pleasure,  and  therefore  the  same  benefit,  as  in 
their  own.  Exercise  that  is  taken  mechanically 
with  no  heart  or  enjoyment,  does  a  man  no 
more  good  than  the  running  of  a  machine  does 
it.  It  simply  tends  to  wear  out.  I  have  seen 
good  men  solemnly  sawing  wood  before  break- 
fast to  strengthen  their  constitution.  I  fear 
only  iron  constitutions  can  bear  such  tonics.  I 
once  tried  it  myself  in  student  days,  and  the  result 
was  backache,  headache,  and  general  prostra- 
tion. Exercise  in  the  way  of  recreation  must 
give  employment  to  the  mind  as  well  as  the 
body,  and  must  be  of  a  kind  that,  as  the  children 
say,  is  "fun"  to  us.  It  should  be  performed 


PREPARING    FOR    WINTER    QUARTERS.  2Oj 

con  amore.  Otherwise  it  becomes  but  another 
phase  of  wearing  work.  I  am  satisfied  that  the 
Good  Father  meant  that  His  children  should 
play  not  a  little  all  through  their  earthly  lives, 
and  if  grave  men  and  women  played  more,  they 
could  do  more  and  better  work.  Why  should 
not  men  play  ?  Don't  old  apple-trees  blossom 
as  well  as  the  daisies  ?  Wearing  toil  was  never 
meant  for  unfallen  man,  and  yet  Adam  and  Eve 
were  gardeners  from  the  first.  (For  I  am  satis- 
fied that  Eve  did  not  sit  in  a  bower  and  read 
novels  all  day  while  Adam  "delved,"  and  we 
know  she  did  not  spend  her  time  in  dressing.) 
Therefore,  on  our  cursed  thistle-growing  earth, 
may  we  not  find  in  the  garden  hints  of  that 
labor  that  rests  body  and  soul — labor  having 
more  enjoyment  than  wanton  frolic  ?  Come 
with  me  into  my  garden  and  see,  even  when 
preparing  for  winter,  instead  of  spring  with  its 
promise,  and  summer  with  its  ripe  fulfilment. 


208  PREPARING   FOR   WINTER   QUARTERS. 

We  will  first  mow  the  asparagus  bed  and 
burn  the  dying  tops,  for  if  the  seeds  of  this 
most  delicious  vegetable  (in  its  place)  become 
scattered,  they  make  a  troublesome  weed. 
Now  cover  the  bed  with  two  or  three  inches  of 
stable  manure,  and  it  is  done  for  till  the  follow- 
ing spring. 

No  frosts  have  fallen  yet,  but  they  are  nightly 
expected,  therefore  we  must  be  ready.  The 
beets  had  better  be  gathered  in  at  once  and 
placed  in  a  cool  cellar,  as  frost  injures  them.  I 
have  found  that  by  putting  my  roots  in  a  barrel 
and  covering  them  with  six  inches  of  fresh 
earth,  it  prevented  them  from  wilting.  It  has 
been  my  custom  to  plant  bush-beans  in  early 
August,  in  odd  places,  where  early  crops  have 
matured.  By  the  last  of  September  and  the 
first  week  of  October,  the  vines  are  full  of  green 
tender  pods.  These  put  away  in  pickle  will 
keep  till  beans  come  again,  and  when  properly 


PREPARING   FOR   WINTER   QUARTERS.  209 

freshened  and  prepared  for  the  table,  you  can 
scarcely  tell  them  in  February  and  March  from 
those  just  picked. 

In  some  places  they  would  also  find  a  ready 
sale  in  the  fall,  though  out  of  season.  We  find 
the  limas  full  of  green  but  well-filled  pods. 
One  slight  frost  would  spoil  them  all,  but  if 
picked  before  it,  and  spread  thin  on  the  garret 
floor,  they  will  make  one  of  our  best  winter 
vegetables.  We  will  give  the  late  cabbage  and 
cauliflower  one  more  good  hoeing,  and  pull  out 
any  that  are  diseased.  The  carrots  should  be 
taken  up  before  the  ground  begins  to  freeze, 
and  the  squashes  gathered  before  the  frost 
touches  them.  The  celery  is  growing  fast  now, 
the  cool  weather  just  suiting  it,  and  therefore 
every  few  days  it  should  be  well  earthed  up  so 
that  the  blanching  process  may  go  on  with  the 
growth.  Select  a  few  well-loaded  tomato- 
vines  and  egg-plants  in  some  sheltered  place, 
14 


PREPARING   FOR   WINTER   QUARTERS. 


if  possible,  and  be  prepared  to  cover  them 
well  in  case  of  a  cold  night.  I  have  known 
all  the  vines  to  be  killed  by  one  frost  in  early 
October,  and  then  there  was  no  frost  till  quite 
late  in  November.  If  a  few  vines  could  have 
been  protected  through  that  one  cold  snap,  they 
would  have  supplied  the  family  with  tomatoes 
a  month  longer.  The  late  supply  can  also  be 
eked  out  by  hanging  up  a  few  well-filled  vines 
in  a  dry,  sunny  place,  in  some  out-building 
or  attic,  and  they  will  gradually  ripen  their 
fruit.  Turnips  will  make  their  chief  growth 
in  this  month,  and  it  is  always  better  to 
have  them  in  rows,  so  that  they  can  be  often 
hoed.  Keep  the  spinach,  kale,  and  onions 
growing  rapidly  by  frequent  cultivation. 

And  now  we  come  to  the  main  and  special 
work  of  the  season,  preparation  for  the  future. 
First  we  will  remember  those  sweet  friends  that 
have  brightened  our  eyes  all  summer.  Flower 


PREPARING   FOR   WINTER   QUARTERS.  211 

seeds  will  be  gathered  and  labelled,  plants  that 
we  wish  to  preserve  will  now  be  put  in  pots, 
tender  bulbs,  such  as  the  tube  rose  and  gladio- 
lus, taken  up  and  stowed  in  a  cool,  dry  place. 
Then,  that  spring  may  be  doubly  welcomed,  we 
will  make  our  crocus,  tulip,  and  hyacinth  beds. 
The  two  last  named  should  be  planted  four 
inches  deep,  and  the  smaller  bulbs  about  half 
the  distance.  When  severe  frosts  commence, 
some  coarse  litter  should  be  thrown  over  the 
beds.  Space  will  not  permit  me  to  go  into  the 
subject  of  flowers  to  that  degree  that  inclination 
prompts.  Moreover,  the  mercenary  phase  of 
these  papers  rather  forbids  it,  as  my  play  has 
been  so  closely  linked  with  profit.  But  I  can 
refer  the  reader  to  a  charming  practical  little 
book,  by  Miss  Warner,  and  published  by  Ran- 
dolph &  Co.  If  one  can  read  that  without 
sending  to  Mr.  Vick,  or  some  one,  for  flower 
seeds  and  bulbs,  it  may  be  doubted  whether  he 


212  PREPARING    FOR   WINTER    QUARTERS. 

(or  she)  is  descended  from  Adam.  We  will, 
therefore,  return  to  those  products  of  the  garden 
that  appeal  to  the  grosser  sense  of  taste. 

Currant  and  gooseberry  bushes  should  now 
be  pruned  ;  that  is,  old,  half-dead  wood  cut  out, 
and  all  trimmed  into  shape.  If  more  plants  are 
desired,  cuttings  from  the  new  wood,  grown 
during  the  past  summer,  can  be  made  and  set 
out  about  a  foot  apart  in  the  row.  The  cuttings 
may  be  from  five  to  eight  inches  in  length,  and 
should  be  put  in  the  ground  about  four  inches, 
and  the  soil  made  firm  around  them.  They 
then  may  be  left  to  grow  one  or  two  seasons, 
according  to  convenience,  and  afterwards  put 
where  they  are  to  fruit.  Good  soil,  freedom 
from  weeds,  and  liberal  use  of  pruning  knife,  are 
all  that  the  currant  and  gooseberry  ask  in  order 
to  make  regular  and  full  returns.  Strong  plants 
may  also  be  had  by  bending  the  bushes  down 
and  covering  them  partially  with  earth,  or  bet- 


PREPARING    FOR   WINTER    QUARTERS.  2 13 

ter  still,  heaping  the  soil  up  around  them  in  the 
fall,  and  then  every  stalk  will  not  only  bear 
fruit,  but  will  throw  out  roots,  and  the  whole 
bush  may  be  divided  in  the  following  October 
into  a  half  a  dozen  or  more  vigorous  new  plants. 
Now  is  the  time,  also,  to  put  out  the  bushes 
where  they  are  expected  to  grow  for  years  to 
come ;  and  as  they  can  be  had  at  no  great  cost, 
it  would  be  well  for  those  who  have  none  to  get 
their  first  supply  at  the  nursery.  It  is  true,  as 
we  have  said,  that  currants  will  grow  in  neglect- 
ed corners,  along  fences,  anywhere  that  its  roots 
can  get  half  a  hold  upon  the  soil,  but  it  is  also 
true  that  it  will  make  double  return  in  thor- 
oughly enriched  garden  soil.  It  is  a  fruit  that 
a  slovenly  cultivator  can  depend  upon,  but  also 
one  that  the  careful  gardener  can  do  wonders 
with.  The  currant  worm  is  proving  a  formida- 
ble enemy  in  some  districts,  but  Mr.  Skene  has 
fought  them  successfully  by  thoroughly  syring- 


214  PREPARING   FOR   WINTER    QUARTERS. 

ing  the  bushes  with  suds  of  carbolic-acid  soap. 
In  the  open  garden  the  bushes  may  be  set  in 
rows  five  feet  apart,  and  four  feet  distant  in  the 
row.  In  obtaining  gooseberries,  ask  for  those 
varieties  that  do  not  mildew,  such  as  Hough  - 
ton's  Seedling. 

All  kinds  of  fruit-trees  and  grape-vines  may 
now  be  set  out,  even  to  better  advantage  than 
in  the  spring  ;  and  there  is  now  no  such  pressure 
for  time  as  will  prevent  its  being  done  carefully. 
It  may  be  safer  farther  north  to  put  out  stone 
fruits  in  spring,  but  that  is  a  question  for 
local  authorities  to  decide.  We  are  sufficiently 
utilitarian  to  advise  the  owners  of  small  places 
to  put  out  fruit-trees  in  the  .main,  rather 
than  those  which  are  merely  ornamental.  If 
properly  pruned  and  trained,  fruit-trees  are 
ornamental  as  well  as  useful.  They  are  great 
fragrant  bouquets  in  spring,  and  their  laden 
boughs  throughout  the  season  suggest  moral 


PREPARING    FOR   WINTER    QUARTERS.  215 

and  religious  lessons,  good  dinners,  and  spend- 
ing money.  Why  should  not  all  these  things 
go  together,  good  Doctor  Theologicus  ? 

As  to  varieties,  if  we  are  planting  for  home 
use,  there  should  be  a  succession  in  time  of 
ripening,  with  the  main  crop  coming  late,  so 
that  it  will  keep  into  the  fall  and  winter.  If 
we  have  the  market  mainly  in  view,  then  it  is 
well  to  select  more  in  view  of  the  popular 
demand,  learned  from  the  market.  We  must 
also  remember,  that  the  list  of  highly  recom- 
mended varieties  is  very  large,  and  that  some 
succeed  admirably  in  one  place,  and  not  in 
another.  We  must  therefore  learn,  by  inquiry 
and  observation,  what  kinds  are  best  adapted 
to  our  locality. 

We  will  see  to  it  that  we  obtain  only  fair, 
straight,  vigorous  trees.  No  nursery-man  shall 
palm  off  on  us  any  others.  Trees  are  like  peo- 
ple. Each  one  has  its  own  constitution,  and 


2l6  PREPARING   FOR   WINTER   QUARTERS. 

some  are  dwarfed  and  weakly  from  the  start. 
Sickly  babies  should  have  the  tenderest  care, 
but  to  feeble  trees  in  their  infancy,  the  Spartan 
law  should  apply.  They  should  be  destroyed. 
Having  obtained  the  trees,  we  will  not  put 
them  in  the  ground  like  posts,  but  dig  a  fair 
round  hole,  twice  as  large  and  twice  as  deep  as 
the  roots  seem  to  require.  Many  a  sagacious 
man  saves  ten  or  fifteen  minutes  in  setting  out 
a  tree,  but  loses  half  a  dozen  years  in  growth  or 
bearing.  Slip-shod  work  is  usually  economical 
after  this  style.  In  digging  the  hole,  we  will 
put  all  the  good  surface  earth  on  one  side,  and 
the  poor  yellow  subsoil  on  the  other.  The  bot- 
tom of  the  hole  will  be  filled  up  with  good  black 
soil,  mixed  with  compost  or  well-rotted  manure. 
If  a  lot  of  bones  can  be  thrown  in  also,  their 
gradual  decay  will  be  of  great  benefit.  Set  the 
tree  in  the  ground  with  roots  well  spread  out, 
just  as  deeply  as  it  stood  before  it  was  taken  up. 


PREPARING    FOR    WINTER    QUARTERS.  21 7 

Sprinkle  fine  rich  earth  (never  coarse  ma- 
nure) among  and  over  the  roots,  so  that  they 
may  have  good  ready  material  to  draw  on  at 
once.  Over  the  surface,  the  poor  yellow  soil 
from  the  bottom  of  the  hole  may  be  spread, 
and  this  covered  with  coarse  manure  as  a  mulch. 
Pour  a  pail  of  water  around  the  tree,  to  settle 
the  earth  about  its  roots,  and  it  is  started  like  a 
boy  with  a  good  education.  If  it  don't  do  well, 
it  is  its  own  fault.  Of  course,  it  wants  looking 
after,  from  time  to  time,  as  we  all  do. 

Grape-vines  can  be  treated  in  the  same  gen- 
eral way,  but  we  think  that  even  the  most  hardy 
varieties  had  better  be  covered  with  earth  the 
first  winter,  as  a  vine  just  set  out  cannot  resist 
the  cold  like  one  long  established.  In  choosing 
a  spot  for  grape-vines,  take  one  that  is  rather 
warm,  dry,  and  with  thorough  drainage.  Trees 
should  have  stakes  at  once,  otherwise  Novem- 
ber winds  will  whip  them  to  death  ;  and  three 


2l8  PREPARING   FOR   WINTER   QUARTERS. 

strong  stakes  should  be  driven  over  the  little 
vine,  or  otherwise  some  careless  foot  may  crush 
off  the  one  or  two  buds  on  which  your  hopes 
may  depend. 

I  have  great  faith  in  the  raspberry  as  a  profit- 
able crop,  and  with  me  it  has  been  next  to  the 
strawberry  in  value.  The  latter  part  of  October 
is  the  best  time  to  set  them  out.  In  spring 

• 

there  is  apt  to  be  delay,  and  the  buds  just  above 
the  roots  that  make  the  new  canes  are  often  so 
far  started,  that  it  is  next  to  impossible  to  get 
the  plants  in  the  ground  without  breaking  them 
off.  If  your  plants  are  to  consist  of  the  Hudson 
River  Antwerp,  or  some  other  tender  and  for- 
eign variety,  you  can  scarcely  get  your  ground 
in  too  fine  order.  Not  only  must  it  be  thoroughly 
enriched,  but  deep  ploughing  and  careful  cultiva- 
tion is  also  required.  If  we  are  expecting  to 
buy  plants,  it  would  be  well,  during  the  bearing 
season,  to  look  around  among  those  who  have 


PREPARING  FOR  WINTER  QUARTERS.      219 

them  for  sale,  and  make  our  purchase  of  him 
whose  vines  show  a  tendency  to  great  vigor  and 
productiveness.  For  the  same  variety  will  look 
very  differently,  and  really  have  marked  diversi- 
ties in  different  localities,  and  under  varied 
treatment ;  and  some  growers'  plants,  from 
something  unfavorable  in  soil  or  culture,  become 
feeble  in  their  constitution,  and  no  amount  of 
care  can  make  them  do  so  well  as  those  from  a 
thrifty  stock.  One  great  point  of  success  is 
the  continued  selection  of  the  strong  and  pro- 
lific. If  the  Clark  and  Philadelphia  varieties  are 
employed,  the  same  high  degree  of  fertility  is 
not  required,  as  they  are  naturally  much  more 
vigorous  in  their  growth.  But' the  same  clean, 
careful  culture  should  be  practised  with  all 
kinds.  Hard-baked  soil,  grass  and  weeds,  will 
discourage  the  hardiest  native  varieties,  and  the 
cultivator  will  deserve  nothing  from  his  bushes 
but  thorns. 


220  PREPARING    FOR   WINTER    QUARTERS. 

We  cannot  recommend  the  Philadelphia  vari- 
ety, when  better  can  be  raised.  It  is  true  they 
are  very  hardy,  and  immense  bearers,  but  the 
fruit  is  small,  soft,  and  nearly  all  ripens  at  once, 
and  if  not  all  picked  promptly,  drops  off.  Still, 
on  many  soils  other  varieties  do  not  succeed 
well,  and  on  poor  sandy  ground  this  kind  will 
do  remarkably  well.  But  put  them  in  Wash- 
ington Market  alongside  of  the  Antwerp,  and 
they  make  a  sorry  show.  For  a  local  market, 
and  when  they  can  be  sent  to  a  city  quickly 
without  rough  handling,  the  Clark  is  a  very  fine 
variety.  The  only  trouble  is,  that  they  are  very 
soft,  and  apt  to  mash  down  in  carriage.  But  it 
is  a  hardy,  kind,  vigorous  grower,  and  very 
prolific.  They  do  not  all  ripen  together  either, 
and  one  has  some  leeway  in  getting  them 
picked.  Mine  continue  in  bearing  almost  a 
month.  There  are  some  new  varieties  that  are 
promising  well. 


PREPARING   FOR  WINTER   QUARTERS.  221 

It  would  be  well  to  make  careful  inquiries  be- 
fore setting  out  largely  of  any  one  kind,  but  for 
the  home  supply  and  a  local  market  the  Clark 
may  be  depended  on  ;  and  if  the  Hudson  River 
Antwerp  does  well  in  your  locality,  you  need 
ask  no  better  variety.  My  experience  with  the 
white  varieties  is,  that  they  are  too  soft  even  for 
the  local  market,  but  they  make  a  pretty  change 
in  the  home  garden.  The  Franconia  (red)  has 
proved  an  excellent  berry  with  me,  firm  and 
productive.  A  new  red  variety  called  the  Na- 
omi is  very  highly  spoken  of.  For  field  cult- 
ure, raspberries  should  be  set  out  four  feet  each 
way,  so  that  the  plough  and  cultivator  can  run 
between  them. 

The  Philadelphia,  Purple  Cane,  and  Black- 
cap varieties  need  no  protection  in  winter,  and 
the  same  is  also  said  of  the  Naomi.  But  even 
though  it  is  claimed  that  the  Clark  and  Franco- 
nia are  perfectly  hardy,  I  found  it  to  pay  to  lay 


222  PREPARING   FOR   WINTER    QUARTERS. 

them  down  and  cover  with  earth  the  same  as  the 
Antwerps.  In  the  winter  of  '71-2  even  the 
Philadelphias  were  badly  killed,  and  it  is  my 
custom  to  bury  this  variety  also.  Last  summer 
I  visited  a  gentleman  who  had  ten  times  as  much 
ground  in  the  Clark  and  Philadelphia  varieties 
as  I  had,  but  my  crop  was  ten  times  as  large,  I 
should  think.  Simply  because  my  vines  had 
been  buried.  Ten  or  twenty  dollars  spent  in 
covering  his  vines  would  have  given  him  five 
hundred  dollars  more  in  fruit. 

In  setting  out  your  plants,  cut  them  back  to 
about  six  inches,  so  that  all  the  strength  of  the 
root  may  go  in  producing  new  growth.  Far 
more  is  lost  than  is  gained  by  trying  to  get  a 
crop  the  first  year. 

Blackberries  may  now  be  set  out  also.  Their 
stronger  habit  of  growth  requires  more  space 
than  raspberries,  and,  therefore,  the  rows  should 
be  at  least  six  feet  apart,  and  the  plants  stand 


PREPARING    FOR   WINTER    QUARTERS.  223 

four  feet  from  each  other  in  the  row.  The  canes 
should  be  cut  off  about  six  inches  above  the 
ground,  and  the  second  season  you  may  hope 
for  a  good  crop.  They  do  not  by  any  means 
require  as  rich  ground  as  the  raspberry,  and  too 
high  feeding  would  only  injure  them  by  stimu- 
lating too  large  a  growth  of  immature  wood. 
In  our  latitude  the  blackberry  is  so  apt  to 
winter-kill,  that  their  cultivation  is  rather  dis- 
couraging. If  some  perfectly  hardy  variety 
could  be  originated,  it  would  be  a  great  desider- 
atum. The  three  varieties  that  I  have  tried,  the 
Wilson,  Lawton,  and  Kittatinny,  all  kill  badly. 
The  last  two  varieties  are  usually  too  strong  and 
stocky  to  lay  down  and  cover  with  earth  as  we 
do  raspberries,  but  the  more  slender,  trailing 
Wilson  variety  might  be  so  treated  without 
great  difficulty.  It  has  been  my  experience 
that  blackberries  require  a  light,  thoroughly 
drained  soil,  so  that  the  wood  may  ripen 


224  PREPARING   FOR  WINTER    QUARTERS. 

well  before  winter,  while  raspberries  do  better 
on  a  moist  loam.  A  little  shade  is  to  the 
advantage  of  the  latter  also,  and  therefore  it  is 
well  to  set  out  standard  pear-trees  among  them. 
The  thorough  cultivation  required  by  the  rasp- 
berries will  greatly  stimulate  the  growth  of  the 
trees,  and  their  partial  shade  will  be  a  benefit. 

Cold  frames  should  be  ready  the  latter  part 
of  this  month.  Mine  are  made  in  the  following 
simple,  inexpensive  way.  A  dry  piece  of  ground 
is  selected,  which  will  be  in  no  danger  from 
melting  snow  and  water,  during  the  winter. 
The  location  should  be  sheltered  from  the  north 
and  west  if  possible.  I  sometimes  excavate  the 
soil  two  feet,  throwing  the  good  surface  earth  in 
one  place,  and  the  subsoil  in  another  ;  then  fill- 
ing up  the  pit  again,  to  the  depth  of  one  foot, 
with  the  best  soil.  Around  the  edge  of  this  pit 
boards  are  placed,  so  as  to  form  a  simple  box 
according  in  size  to  my  sash.  This  box  is  made 


PREPARING   FOR  WINTER   QUARTERS.  225 

by  nailing  a  wide  board  on  the  north  side  to 
firmly  driven  stakes,  and  a  narrower  one  is 
arranged  in  the  same  way  on  the  south  side. 
Boards  across  the  ends  complete  the  rude,  but 
effective  appliance.  The  sash  facing  the  south 
can  now  be  laid  on  the  boards  when  required, 
and  the  difference  in  width  of  the  boards  will 
give  an  inclination  sufficient  to  carry  off  the 
water.  When  hurried,  I  have  simply  driven 
stakes  in  level  ground,  nailed  the  boards  to 
them,  and  the  work  was  done.  But  it  is  an  ad- 
ditional protection  to  the  plants  to  be  twelve  or 
eighteen  inches  below  the  surface  of  the  ground. 
As  I  have  picked  up  in  our  village  old  windows 
and  sash  of  different  sizes,  I  have  made  my 
boxes  accordingly. 

During  the  last  ten  days  of  October,  I  fill  up 
these  cold  frames  with  lettuce,  cabbage,  and 
cauliflower  plants,  setting  the  last  two  named 

well  in  the  ground — down  to  the  leaves,  so  that 
15 


226  PREPARING    FOR   WINTER    QUARTERS. 

no  part  of  the  stem  is  exposed.  If  the  cabbage 
plants  are  rather  small,  they  can  be  set  from  half 
to  an  inch  apart  in  the  rows,  and  the  rows  two 
inches  apart ;  for  growth  is  not  aimed  at  now, 
but  simply  their  preservation  till  spring. 

I  have  always  had  the  best  success  with  let- 
tuce, and  seldom  lose  many  plants.  I  put  them 
as  close  as  they  can  stand  in  rows  three  inches 
apart.  Thus  a  small  frame  will  winter  over  a 
great  many.  The  ground  must  be  pressed  very 
firm  about  the  roots,  and  kept  so.  Where  it  has 
tended  to  freeze  and  thaw  during  the  winter  and 
throw  the  roots  out,  I  have  found  much  advan- 
tage in  filling  up  the  spaces  between  the  plants 
with  dry  sand. 

At  first  these  almost  hardy  vegetables  will  re- 
quire no  protection  in  the  cold  frames,  but  as 
freezing  nights  come  on,  the  sash  should  be 
placed  over  them,  and  taken  off  during  the  day, 
and  even  during  the  winter  they  should  be  thor- 


PREPARING   FOR   WINTER   QUARTERS.  227 

oughly  aired  in  mild  weather.  As  spring  ap- 
proaches the  sash  must  be  pushed  down  or  taken 
off  when  the  sun  shines  warmly,  or  the  plants 
will  be  rendered  tender,  and  premature  growth 
induced.  The  earth  should  be  heaped  up 
around  the  outside  of  the  boxes,  as  this  renders 
them  warmer  and  tighter.  It  is  not  necessary 
that  the  earth  in  these  frames  should  be  very 
rich,  since  they  are  used  for  storing  rather  than 
growing  purposes.  Still,  I  make  the  most  of 
mine  so,  since  early  in  spring  I  thin  my  lettuce- 
plants  out  by  setting  them  in  the  open  ground, 
or  in  frames  prepared  for  forcing  them.  These 
are  cold  frames  made  in  the  fall,  like  those  de- 
scribed above  ;  but  the  earth  in  them  is  very 
rich,  and  designed  to  promote  rapid  growth. 
No  plants  are  put  in  them  in  fall,  and  as 
winter  approaches  they  are  filled  up  with  leaves, 
so  that  no  frost  can  reach  the  soil.  By  the  first 
of  March  the  leaves  can  be  thrown  out,  and  you 


228  PREPARING    FOR   WINTER    QUARTERS. 

have  rich,  mellow  ground  in  which  lettuce-plants 
from  the  cold  frames  can  be  set  out.  They  are 
then  covered  with  glass,  and  by  the  end  of  the 
month  are  fit  for  market,  while  many  of  your 
neighbors  have  not  as  yet  sown  their  seed. 

All  through  the  fall  season,  till  the  ground  is 
frozen,  much  can  be  done  in  the  way  of  im- 
provement, and  preparation  for  the  following 
year,  in  the  way  of  picking  off  stone,  drainage, 
etc.  Sometimes  during  the  winter  the  water 
collects  in  parts  of  a  field  or  garden,  and  does 
much  harm.  This  can  often  be  prevented  by 
opening  a  small  surface  drain,  from  such  locali- 
ties, in  November.  All  loam  and  clay  lands  are 
greatly  benefited  by  deep  ploughing,  spading, 
or  trenching  in  the  fall.  This  very  important 
work  can  often  be  continued  even  into  Decem- 
ber, and  the  gardener  will  find  it  greatly  to  his 
advantage  to  turn  up  every  foot  of  land  possible 
to  the  action  of  frost. 


PREPARING    FOR    WINTER    QUARTERS.  229 

As  winter  approaches,  we  prune  our  tender 
raspberries,  Wilson  blackberries,  and  grape- 
vines, then  lay  them  down  and  cover  with 
earth.  Bury  them  well,  or  heavy  rains  will 
wash  them  out.  Our  strawberries  should  be 
tucked  away  under  a  good  warm  covering.  I 
have  usually  employed  stable  manure,  raking 
off  only  the  coarsest  part  in  the  spring.  In 
this  way  the  plants  are  greatly  stimulated  as 
well  as  protected.  But  leaves,  straw,  or  any 
litter  will  answer.  Fruit  trees  may  be  carefully 
pruned  at  our  leisure,  by  cutting  back  the  too 
exuberant  growth  of  new  wood,  and  by  trim- 
ming them  into  shapely  appearance. 

The  closing  scenes  have  come,  and  we  are 
about  ready  to  go  into  winter  quarters.  But 
after  all  this  careful  preparation  for  another 
season,  we  know  that  winter  does  not  mean 
death  to  our  garden.  From  the  first  white 


230  PREPARING   FOR   WINTER   QUARTERS. 

hoar-frost  forward,  autumn  only  brings  to 
Nature  rest  and  sleep. 

In  truth,  Nature  teaches  man  how  to  die, 
or  rather  how  to  provide  for  another  life. 
There  is  much  sentimental  sighing  over  the 
falling  leaves,  fading  flowers,  and  "winter's 
deadly  breath." 

"All  that  I  see  speaks  to  me  of  death," 
lamented  a  lachrymose  moralist  standing  in  a 
frost-bitten  garden  on  a  crisp,  brilliant  October 
day.  This  remark  had  been  suggested  by  a 
shower  of  maple  leaves,  dropped  around  him 
by  a  sudden  gust,  that  went  ruthlessly  through 
the  grove,  stripping  the  trees  of  their  summer 
glory.  And  half  the  world  sighs  with  him. 

Why  do  they  not  note  that  the  leaves  are  so 
rich  and  gay  in  coloring  that  they  seem  like 
rainbows  falling  in  fragments.  Why  do  they 
not  see  that  every  point  where  a  leaf  has 
parted  from  its  spray,  a  bud  has  formed 


PREPARING    FOR   WINTER    QUARTERS.  23! 

that  will  develop  into  other  leaves,  as  large, 
green,  and  beautiful  as  were  ever  those  now 
dropping  away.  Why  should  they  not  fall  ? 
Their  work  is  done.  They  have  reached  their 
perfection.  So  far  from  assuming  the  sombre 
leaden  hue  of  death  before  they  change  into 
other  forms,  they  blush  with  joy,  they  crown 
themselves  with  gold,  as  if  exulting  over  fin- 
ished achievement.  They  are  invested  in  the 
royal  purple  of  victors,  rather  than  the  sad- 
colored  hues  of  the  vanquished. 

But  how  about  these  frosted  flowers  that  are 
in  such  sad  contrast  with  their  appearance  a 
week  ago  ?  Even  here  death  is  more  seeming 
than  real.  The  frost  did  not  fall  till  innu- 
merable seeds  were  ripened,  and  this  plant 
that  looks  so  forlorn  and  dying,  has  a  sturdy 
root,  that,  like  a  true,  but  unobtrusive  friend, 
will  see  it  through  the  "  tight  times"  of  frozen 
ground  and  icy  nights. 


232  PREPARING   FOR   WINTER   QUARTERS. 

While  flourishing,  blooming,  fruiting,  and 
having  a  good  time  generally  in  the  summer 
sunshine,  every  plant  in  this  garden,  every 
shrub  and  tree  on  lawn  or  in  grove,  has  at  the 
same  time  been  providing  that  it  may  live 
again.  All  the  strength  has  not  gone  into  one 
summer's  growth.  All  the  richness  of  ground 
and  sap  has  not  been  expended  in  making  a 
show  for  one  brief  season.  In  some  wise, 
successful  way,  they  have  all  the  time  been 
carrying  forward  the  vital  principle,  that  it 

• 

might   again  be  established  under  new   and   if 
possible  more  favorable  auspices. 

Shame  on  you,  therefore,  men  and  women  of 
the  world,  who  expend  your  whole  strength  on 
the  passing  hour  on  this  first  stage  of  the 
journey,  this  first  crude  phase  of  life,  with  no 
thought  or  provision  for  what  is  coming.  Is 
this  all  your  boasted  reason — your  high  en- 
dowment does  for  you  ?  Even  the  weeds  of  my 


PREPARING   FOR   WINTER    QUARTERS.  233 

garden  do  better,  and  while  flourishing  one 
season,  at  the  same  time  see  to  it  that  their  poor 
life  may  have  a  chance  of  flaunting  under  the 
blue  skies  and  sunshine  of  another  summer. 
Sad  indeed  would  autumn  be  if  your  death 
took  the  place  of  Nature's  change  and  sleep. 
Every  bud  on  the  leafless  trees,  every  seed  and 
root  hiding  in  the  snow-mantled  earth,  is  a 
reproach  to  your  narrow,  earth-bounded  life. 

Were  your  gardens  any  the  less  luxuriant, 
beautiful,  fruitful,  last  summer,  because  at  the 
same  time  they  developed  the  means  of  continu- 
ing so  for  all  the  future  ?  And  why  should  it 
take  from  the  bloom  of  our  lives,  as  we  provide 
for  their  blossoming  in  a  happier  clime  ? 

Every  purple-tipped  strawberry  runner,  every 
bud  forming  at  the  stem  of  the  leaf,  every 
ripening  seed,  should  teach  us  that  it  is  God's 
will  that  we  should  live  and  be  happy  in  the 
future  as  well  as  in  the  present. 


234  PREPARING   FOR  WINTER   QUARTERS. 

The  frosts  of  autumn  therefore  do  not  mean 
death.  They  merely  put  Nature  to  rest  when 
her  proper  bedtime  comes,  and  winter  soon 
after  tucks  her  away  under  a  fleecy  blanket  till 
the  call  of  spring  awakens. 

But  when  disease  attacks  tree  or  plant,  they 
may  die  even  in  the  midst  of  spring  showers 
and  summer  sunshine.  It  is  sin,  not  death,  that 
destroys  man.  All  that  death  need  mean  is 
sleep,  and  a  change  for  the  better. 

Sleep  then,  my  garden!  I  know  you  will 
awaken,  like  some  dear  friends  whose  eyes  I 
have  seen  closed,  and  their  bodies,  like  the 
precious  seed,  covered  deeply  in  the  grave. 


XIV. 

GARDENING   OVER  A  WINTER  FIRE. 

THE  holidays  are  past,  and  Santa  Claus  has 
either  remembered  us,  or  we  were  obliged  to 
remember  that  we  were  Santa  Claus.  Snow 
and  sleigh-riding  have  lost  their  novelty.  We 
have  been  to  town,  read  the  new  books,  had 
the  influenza,  nearly  finished  our  lecture  course, 
and  in  brief  have  almost  exhausted  the  proper 
things  of  the  winter  season.  The  days  are 
growing  longer,  and  often,  something  in  their 
sunnier  light  and  warmer  breath  reminds  us  of 
the  friends  in  the  garden,  who  are  sleeping  in 
their  winter  graves,  still  deep  under  the  snow ; 
but  we  know  the  time  of  resurrection  is  com- 
ing, when  in  robes  new  and  ralnbow-hued,  they 
will  rise  from  the  earth  into  beautiful  life. 


236  GARDENING   OVER   A   WINTER   FIRE. 

The  first  hints  of  spring  are  subtle,  delicate, 
but  wonderfully  suggestive.  As  you  step  out 
of  your  door  some  sunny  morning  the  last  of 
February,  no  matter  how  bleak  and  wintry  the 
landscape  may  still  appear,  you  feel  in  a  vague, 
pleasurable  way  the  influences  of  the  opening 
season.  There  is  a  peculiar  fragrance  in  the 
air,  coming  not  from  blossoms,  for  there  are 
none,  uncaused  by  budding  vegetation,  for  as 
yet  sleep  rests  on  the  pallid  face  of  Nature. 
Not  a  bud  has  stirred,  and  the  withered  herb- 
age is  still  buried  deeply  under  the  snow.  And 
yet,  by  some  strange  alchemy,  from  some  un- 
known source  is  this  delicate  perfume  distilled. 
Do  not  the  old  farmers  account  for  it  when,  on 
going  out  on  such  a  morning,  they  snuff  the 
air,  and  say  : 

"  It  smells  like  spring." 

It  is  then  spring's  own  peculiar  and  appro- 
priate  odor;    and   when   we   recognize   it,   we 


GARDENING   OVER   A   WINTER   FIRE.  237 

know  that  this  most  welcome  season  is  near ; 
just  a  certain  fragrance  assures  us  that  a  bunch 
of  violets  is  not  far  off.  The  organization  of 
the  natural  gardener  is  very  susceptible  to  these 
influences,  and  when  this  impalpable  aroma  of 
spring  first  greets  him,  he  has  a  solid  satisfac- 
tion such  as  a  stock  dividend  inspires  in  most 
men.  He  is  allured  by  it  to  draw  on  his  rubber 
boots  and  wade  out  into  the  snow-clad  garden. 
But,  after  floundering  around  for  a  time  with 
his  pruning-knife,  and  having  peeped  into  his 
cold  frames — somewhat  as  the  anxious  mother 
occasionally  looks  into  her  crib  and  trundle- 
bed,  where  exuberant  life  is  under  the  paralysis 
of  sleep — he  at  last,  chilled  and  shivering,  gladly 
takes  refuge  in  the  warmest  corner  by  the  ruddy 
fire. 

But  the  awakened  garden  spirit  is  strong 
upon  him,  and  he  cannot  and  will  not  resist  its 
spells.  Old  numbers  of  the  American  Agri- 


238  GARDENING   OVER   A  WINTER   FIRE. 

culturist  or  Moore's  Rural  New  Yorker  are 
dragged  from  some  dusty  hiding-place,  and 
pored  over  with  an  interest  that  no  plot  in  a 
novel  can  awaken.  His  limited  library  bearing 
on  the  garden  will  be  drawn  upon  as  he  reads 
up  on  certain  points,  or  seeks  to  learn  the  opin- 
ion of  others  as  to  the  culture  and  value  of 
certain  crops. 

And  this  leads  us  to  say  that  a  gardener's 
labors  (if  such  you  can  call  them)  over  a  winter 
fire,  are  the  most  profitable  in  the  year. 

But  little  confidence  does  that  campaign  in- 
spire which  is  carried  forward  on  the  hap-hazard 
principle ;  and  strategy  provided  after  dinner 
on  hot  afternoons  will  not  answer  for  the  main 
operations  of  the  year.  Therefore  draw  your 
desk  or  table  to  the  easy-chair  by  the  fireside, 
and  with  pen  and  paper  elaborate  your  plans,  so 
that  when  the  season  opens  you  will  have 
nothing  to  do  but  carry  them  out  with  the  ut- 


GARDENING   OVER  A  WINTER   FIRE.  239 

most  vigor.  If  taste  and  time  permit,  it  is  well 
to  make  maps  of  the  garden,  and  indeed  of 
one's  entire  place  upon  a  certain  scale,  so  that 
all  may  be  accurately  before  the  eye,  rather 
than  indefinitely  present  to  memory.  Then 
every  tree  will  have  its  proper  location,  and  it 
can  be  seen  where  others  might  be  located. 
Ground  already  occupied  can  be  so  described, 
and  you  can  carefully  decide  how  you  will  plant 
the  still  open  spaces.  From  garden  manuals 
and  papers,  you  can  learn  what  crops  are  best 
suited  to  your  soils,  what  modes  of  culture  can 
be  followed  to  greatest  advantage.  All  now  can 
be  settled  definitely  for  the  best,  but  such  wise 
deliberation  would  be  impossible  in  the  hurry  of 
the  opening  season. 

A  clear,  well-arranged  plan  always  saves 
much  time  in  all  operations,  but  especially  in  a 
garden.  In  regard  to  culture  and  crops,  there 
are  such  diversities  of  opinion  and  conflicting 


240  GARDENING    OVER   A   WINTER    FIRE. 

claims,  that  it  is  well  to  have  something  settled 
beforehand.  Having  resolved  on  some  good 
methods,  on  selections  that  seem  the  best,  push 
these  right  through,  and  if  you  have  made 
mistakes  and  can  see  room  for  improvements, 
mark  well  just  where,  and  make  the  changes  for 
the  better  the  following  season.  The  man  who 
in  April  or  May  is  following  the  impulses  of  his 
own  mind,  bewildered  by  the  variety  of  things 
that  all  need  to  be  done  at  once  seemingly,  or 
who  listens  to  a  neighbor  who  leans  over  the 
fence  and  suggests,  will  probably  have  a  strange 
jumble  of  a  garden. 

Then,  in  addition  to  the  saving  of  time  by 
having  a  plan,  is  the  still  greater  saving  of 
worry.  A  man  who  has  a  definite  course 
marked  out  works  with  almost  twice  the  ease 
and  rapidity  of  one  who  does  not  know  exactly 
what  to  do  next.  Worry  wears  much  faster 
than  work.  It  is  like  a  shutter  slamming  back 


GARDENING   OVER   A  WINTER   FIRE.  241 

and  forth  to  no  purpose  on  a  gusty  day.  Every 
spiteful  bang  is  a  jar  and  a  wrench.  Work  is 
like  well-oiled  machinery  running  quietly  in  its 
grooves.  Therefore,  by  careful  plotting,  careful 
reading  and  thought,  and  a  well-digested  plan, 
let  us  be  prepared  to  work,  not  worry  in  our 
gardens,  when  spring  opens.  All  this  makes  a 
pretty  pastime  for  winter  evenings,  besides  be- 
ing eminently  useful  employment. 

Agriculture  offers  scope  for  almost  unlimited 
improvement.  In  no  calling  can  skill  and 
knowledge  be  made  more  effectual. 

This  knowledge  is  obtained,  like  that  of  any 
other  subject,  by  thoughtful,  judicious  reading 
and  observation,  and  by  the  most  careful  com- 
parison of  theories  and  broad  generalizations  of 
the  facts  of  the  garden.  It  will  never  do  to 
apply  to  the  garden  the  ancient  mode  of  phi- 
losophy :  that  of  first  finding  a  theory  that  suits 

you,  and  then  insisting  that  Nature  shall  con- 
16 


242  GARDENING   OVER  A   WINTER   FIRE. 

form  to  it.  The  good  dame  will  probably  do 
nothing  of  the  kind,  and  then  what  is  your 
theory  worth  ?  The  Baconian  system  of  facts 
first,  and  deductions  afterwards,  must  apply 
here  as  elsewhere.  But  the  gardener  who  re- 
mains ignorant  of  facts  and  makes  no  deduc- 
tions, Nature  justly  frowns  upon,  and  makes 
abundant  deductions  for  him  in  the  annual 
yield  of  his  ground.  I  know  that  advocates  of 
agricultural  ignorance  point  to  what  they  term 
"  illiterate  gardeners,"  and  say  : 

"  Look  at  what  they  accomplish  without  any 
reading,  scientific  or  otherwise  !  " 

Do  they  accomplish  their  success  without 
knowledge  ?  So  many  broad-minded  persons 
(as  they  deerri  themselves)  in  good  society, 
imagine  that  people  must  be  well  dressed,  and 
read,  in  order  to  have  knowledge.  There  are 
two  ways  of  acquiring  this  :  one  from  books, 
the  other  from  things  about  which  the  books  are 


GARDENING    OVER   A   WINTER    FIRE.  243 

written  ;  and  the  latter  is  by  far  the  best  source 
of  information,  only  it  is  school  that  "keeps  in  " 
a  long  time,  and  requires  patient  learners.  It 
is  in  this  that  the  "  illiterate  gardener,"  as  you 
term  him,  has  studied ;  but  when  you  come  to 
talk  to  him  on  his  specialty,  you  may  find  that 
the  illiteracy  belongs  to  the  questioner.  If  the 
kid-gloved  theorist  will  go  to  work  practically 
under  Nature's  instructions  for  a  dozen  years  or 
more,  he  may  find  that  though  attending  what 
may  be  termed  a  "dame's  school,"  he  will 
learn  more  than  volumes  can  teach.  Books 
aim  to  give,  in  brief,  the  slow  teachings  of  ex- 
perience, and  as  life  is  short,  we  avail  ourselves 
of"  short-cuts,  and  quick  methods." 

But  the  best  knowledge  is  best  gained  by 
putting  books  and  experience  together,  and  let- 
ting one  help  the  other.  Books  broaden  and 
liberalize,  remove  prejudices,  and  stimulate  to 
higher  attainment.  Facts,  experience  in  the  gar- 


244  GARDENING   OVER   A   WINTER   FIRE. 

den  itself,  corrects  crude  theories,  and  winnows 
out  the  chaff.  But  when  it  comes  to  skill,  the 
"prentice  hand"  must  acquire  it  mainly  by 
practice.  All  the  medical  reading  in  the  world 
would  not  make  a  good  physician,  though  most 
essential  in  preparation  ;  he  must  not  only  read 
about  disease,  but  see  it,  treat  it,  and  have  ex- 
perience in  regard  to  it.  But  experience  gives 
skill  doubly  fast,  when  careful  reading  and  good 
abstract  knowledge  has  prepared  the  way  ;  and 
this  preparation  can  best  be  made  over  the 
winter  fire. 

Then  again,  the  spring  catalogues  are  now 
arriving,  and  they  are  enough  to  give  one  a  per- 
fect fever  over  gardening.  Lying  before  me  is 
one  that  is  a  marvel  of  good  taste  and  beauty, 
sent  out  by  Mr.  James  Vick,  of  Rochester.  In 
it  advertising  becomes  a  fine  art.  So  sugges- 
tive and  accurate  are  the  engraving  of  vegetables, 
and  especially  the  flowers,  that  we  recognize 


GARDENING    OVER   A   WINTER   FIRE.  245 

old  friends  at  a  glance,  and  the  latter  stand  out 
so  clearly  on  the  page,  that  it  would  seem  that 
\ve  could  gather  them  into  a  bouquet.  In  send- 
ing out  thousands  of  such  catalogues,  or  rather 
pretty  little  volumes  of  one  hundred  and  thirty- 
two  pages,  Mr.  Vick  may  justly  be  regarded  as 
a  public  benefactor,  for  they  cannot  fail  to 
greatly  increase  the  love  for  rural  life  ;  and  they 
certainly  impart  much  practical  instruction  in 
regard  to  it,  while  at  the  same  time  offering  for 
sale  the  varied  contents  of  the  largest  seed  store 
in  the  world. 

Looking  as  if  it  "  meant  business,"  R.  H. 
Allen  &  Co.'s  Catalogue,  with  its  sober,  solid 
appearance,  catches  my  eye.  It  is  an  old  friend, 
and  has  laid  on  my  table  every  spring  for  ten 
years  or  more.  Direct,  simple,  plainly  indicat- 
ing the  best  varieties  among  the  many  candi- 
dates for  favor,  it  always  inspires  confidence. 
How  often  in  the  wane  of  winter  I  have  looked 


246  GARDENING   OVER   A  WINTER   FIRE. 

through  its  pages,  and  marked  the  kinds  I  de- 
cided upon  raising. 

I  can  assure  the  ladies  that  the  bliss  of  look- 
ing through  the  fashion-plates  and  ordering  the 
spring  styles,  is  not  to  be  compared  with  the 
deliberation  on  the  seeds  you  intend  raising. 
Then  only  less  welcome,  because  less  familiar, 
are  the  catalogues  of  Peter  Henderson,  B.  K. 
Bliss  &  Sons,  Thorburn  &  Co.,  Bridgeman, 
Flemming,  Landreth,  Briggs  &  Brother,  and 
others  ;  and  between  them  you  are  like  a  gour- 
mand, who,  instead  of  being  invited  to  sit 
down  to  one  feast,  has  placed  before  him  a 
dozen  banquets  at  the  same  time,  and  is  bewil- 
dered how  to  choose. 

As  by  a  winter  fire  we  turn  over  these  dainty 
pages,  what  visions  they  conjure  up  to  the  im- 
aginative amateur  !  "  Conover's  Colossal  As- 
paragus ! "  How  that  sounds  !  but  from  brief 
trial  I  am  coming  to  the  conclusion  that  it  does 


GARDENING    OVER  A  WINTER    FIRE.  247 

not  sound  too  large.     Farther   on  the  eye   is 

startled     by     "Egyptian     Blood /"     oh! 

"  Egyptian  blood  turnip  Beet,  the  earliest  va- 
riety grown,"  and  we  breathe  freer.  What 
names  they  give  these  innocent  useful  vegeta- 
bles !  Why  "  Egyptian  Blood  "  ?  Who  wants 
so  sanguinary  an  association  while  weeding  his 
early  beets  ?  Now  here  is  something  sensible  : 
"  Large  Flat  Dutch  Cabbage."  That  is  very 
appropriate.  The  carrot  list  commences  badly. 
"The  Early  Horn!"  I  hope  none  of  my 
readers  take  it,  early  or  late.  Then  here  is 
"  Carter's  Incomparable  Dwarf  Dark  Crimson 
Celery."  Such  a  name  as  that  certainly  re- 
quires a  carter.  "  Early  Russian  "  or  "Rush- 
in,"  as  it  is  generally  pronounced,  is  a  good 
name  for  a  fast  cucumber,  but  I  protest  against 
"  Blue  Peter  Pea."  I  told  you  the  onion  was 
irrepressible  and  supreme  in  every  age  ;  for  see, 
they  have  named  the  last  variety  discovered, 


248  GARDENING    OVER   A   WINTER    FIRE. 

"  New  Queen,"  and  I  promise  you  she  will 
maintain  her  rank  when  so  many  of  her  degen- 
erate sisters  are  losing  theirs.  Other  queens 
may  frantically  sway  their  sceptres  in  vain,  but  a 
breath  from  her  will  cause  many  to  grow  sick 
and  faint.  Long  live  the  new  Queen — onion. 
For  the  sake  of  our  Democratic  friends,  I  will 
add  that  she  is  described  as  having  a  "  white 
skin."  Here  is  something  called  Scorzonera. 
The  idea  of  asking  your  youngest  child  if  he 
would  take  some  of  that  for  dinner  !  We  come 
next  to  a  squash  called  "  Hubbard,"  probably 
in  honor  of  the  good  old  lady  of  that  name,  in 
hopes  that  her  "cupboard"  will  never  be 
"bare"  of  the  delicious  pies  it  makes. 
Strange  !  here  is  one  called  the  "  Boston  Mar- 
row." The  profanity  of  suggesting  in  faintest 
allusion  that  the  marrow  of  Boston  enters  in  a 
squash  !  We  hardly  know  what  we  are  coming 
to  in  the  way  of  Tomatoes.  Every  year  there 


GARDENING   OVER   A   WINTER   FIRE.  249 

are  several  novelties  so  far  superior  (according 
to  the  catalogues)  to  anything  else  known,  that 
it  would  seem  perfection  might  be  reached  in 
this  vegetable,  if  nothing  else  earthy.  Two  or 
three  years  ago,  we  had  a  variety  named  Gen- 
eral Grant,  indicating  that  all  competitors  were 
vanquished.  We  bought  General  Grant,  sowed 
it,  hoed  it,  and  ate  it,  and  were  satisfied.  Gen- 
eral Grant  didn't  disappoint  us — never.  It  was 
a  good  tomato,  solid  all  the  way  through ;  and 
though  not  so  large  as  some  others,  was  very 
prolific.  We  hoped  to  "have  peace"  on  the 
tomato  question.  But  so  far  from  being  satis- 
fied, like  the  people,  with  the  great  namesake 
for  eight  years,  the  seed-growers  all  proved 
Liberal  Republicans  on  the  tomato  question, 
and  every  spring  new  candidates  are  pressed 
upon  us.  And  now,  Mr.  "  Smith  "  has  sent 
out  a  novelty  that  renders  it  almost  impossible 
to  wait  till  next  July  before  seeing  the  wonder 


250  GARDENING   OVER   A  WINTER   FIRE. 

in  fruit.  The  only  thing  that  can  be  done  at 
present  is  to  buy  the  seeds  at  twenty-five  cents 
per  half  dozen  or  so. 

But  as  far  as  names  are  concerned,  the  vege- 
tables get  off  very  well.  It  is  when  we  turn  to 
the  flowers  that  our  deepest  sympathies  are 
aroused.  Here  is  a  poor  little  plant,  six  inches 
high  at  the  best,  overwhelmed  with  "  Kaulfussia 
amelloides  atroviolacea."  What  a  wrong  is 
done  to  the  pretty  modest  little  flower  !  I  would 
not  put  this  name  on  a  label  over  the  seed,  for 
it  would  never  dare  come  up.  Imagine  a  lisp- 
ing young  lady  asking  a  bashful  young  man  to 
go  into  the  garden  and  make  her  a  bouquet  of 
"  Agrostemma,"  "Asperula  azurea  setosa," 
"  Dianthus  Heddewigii  flore  pleno  atropurpure- 
us,"  "Phlox  Drummondii  Radowitzii  Kerme- 
sina  striata,"  "  Helichrysum  brachyrrhinchum," 
and  a  few  more  pretty  little  blossoms.  And 
yet,  Mr.  Vick  and  others  gravely  offer  these 


GARDENING   OVER  A   WINTER   FIRE.  251 

varieties,  and  a  host  of  other  unpronounceables, 
for  our  modest  flower-borders,  stating  that  they 
are  "desirable  for  cutting."  Their  names  are 
certainly,  and  might  be  cut  back  indefinitely. 
The  winter  fire  would  burn  out,  and  spring 
come  and  go,  before  we  could  master  the  cabala 
of  the  floral  catalogues.  I  pounce  down  on  the 
Pansies,  Asters,  and  like  old  friends,  who  have 
not  put  on  such  airs  in  the  way  of  names,  that 
one  does  not  know  them.  But  they,  too,  have 
caught  the  infection,  and  are  coming  on  like 
some  boys  I  used  to  know,  who  are  getting  "  D. 
D."  and  "Esq."  to  their  names,  and  are  no 
longer  known  as  "  Tom"  or  "  Hal." 

But  the  evening  wanes,  our  eyes  grow  weary, 
our  minds  confused  between  the  conflicting 
claims  of  seeds,  each  one  with  a  stronger  or 
longer  title  to  attention  than  its  fellow.  We 
wish  we  had  a  hundred  acres,  and  a  dozen  gar- 
deners, and  could  plant  each  kind  in  rows  as 


252  GARDENING    OVER   A   WINTER    FIRE. 

long  as  their  names,  and  thus  find  out  for  cer- 
tain which  were  really  the  best. 

At  last  we  sweep  books  and  seductive  cata- 
logues aside,  lift  our  feet  on  the  fender,  and  lean 
back  in  our  easy-chair.  Falling  into  a  dreamy 
state,  we  conjure  up  some  sort  of  an  ideal  Eden 
in  which  fancy  is  head  gardener,  and  wishes 
wait  to  do  its  bidding.  Having  reached  the 
strawberry-bed  in  our  imaginary  scene,  we  rest 
satisfied,  and  drop  off  into  a  doze — to  awake  an 
hour  later,  chilled  and  shivering.  The  winter 
fire  has  gone  out,  and  we  find  a  feather,  rather 
than  a  strawberry-bed,  is  the  proper  thing. 

"  The  time  of  the  singing  of  birds  is  come." 

A  brass  band  banging  away  after  bedtime, 
or  in  ancient  times  the  voice  of  a  Troubadour 
twanging  a  guitar  under  a  window  at  some  un- 
seasonable hour — often  mistaken  on  first  awak- 
ening no  doubt  for  a  cat — these  are  perhaps  the 


GARDENING    OVER   A   WINTER    FIRE.  253 

traditional  ideas  of  a  serenade.  But  what  lan- 
guage can  portray  your  feelings  when  you  are 
awakened  some  mild-  morning  in  March  by  the 
wild  minstrelsy  of  a  party  of  robins  and  blue- 
birds, that,  coming  from  you  know  not  where, 
have  taken  possession  of  your  garden.  The 
long  oppressive  silence  of  winter  is  broken,  and 
now  we  shall  have  trills,  solos,  duetts,  and 
choruses  that  can  only  be  imitated  in  the 
Academy  of  Music. 

Song  is  the  first  crop  I  obtain  from  my  gar- 
den, and  one  of  the  best.  The  robins  know  I 
am  a  friend  of  theirs  in  spite  of  their  taste  for 
early  strawberries  and  cherries,  and  when  I  am 
at  work  they  are  very  sociable  and  familiar. 
One  or  two  will  light  on  raspberry  stakes  near, 
and  sing  and  twitter  almost  as  incessantly  and 
intelligently  as  the  children  in  their  play-house 
under  the  great  oak  tree.  And  yet  the  robin's 


254  GARDENING   OVER  A   WINTER   FIRE. 

first  mellow  whistle  in  spring  is  a  clarion  call  to 
duty,  the  opening  note  of  the  campaign. 

The  making  of  a  hot-bed  may  perhaps  be  re- 
garded as  the  first  labor  to  be  performed.  Its 
size  will  depend  somewhat  on  that  of  your  gar- 
den, and  whether  you  intend  raising  plants  for 
sale. 

The  frame  or  box  on  which  your  sash  are  to 
rest  should  be  made  more  carefully  than  that 
of  the  mere  cold  frame,  for  the  hot-bed  is  de- 
signed for  growth  instead  of  storage.  The  sash 
should  run  in  grooves,  and  the  boards  overlap, 
so  that  no  cold  air  can  find  access  when  it  is 
closed.  Light  pine  shutters,  straw  mats,  or  old 
carpet  should  be  provided  to  render  it  still  more 
secure  from  the  cold.  The  pits  over  which  the 
frames  and  sash  are  placed  should  be  made  in 
the  fall,  and  filled  up  with  leaves  as  before  de- 
scribed. At  any  time  from  the  first  to  the 
middle  of  March,  these  leaves  can  be  thrown 


GARDENING   OVER  A  WINTER   FIRE.  255 

out,  but  kept  dry  as  possible,  and  fresh  manure 
from  the  horse  stable  mixed  with  them  in  equal 
proportions,  and  all  well  shaken  together  in  a 
compact  conical  heap.  In  a  few  days  it  will 
commence  heating,  as  can  be  seen  from  the 
vapor  thrown  off.  It  should  then  be  shaken 
out  and  piled  up  again,  and  after  two  or  three 
days  a  second  fermentation  will  take  place,  and 
now  it  can  be  placed  evenly  and  tramped  down  in 
the  bottom  of  the  pit  to  the  depth  of  two  and  a 
half  feet,  and  seven  inches  of  soil  spread  over  it. 
This  brings  the  surface  about  two  feet  from  the 
glass.  Before  sowing  the  seeds  it  is  better  to 
wait  three  or  four  days,  as  the  manure  may 
heat  so  violently  that  it  would  destroy  the  ten- 
der germs.  When  a  thermometer  placed  in  the 
soil  would  recede  to  eighty-five,  then  seed  can 
be  sown.  The  earth  in  the  beds  should  be  very 
fine  and  rich,  and  may  be  kept  in  some  cellar, 
or  more  conveniently  in  a  cold  frame  covered 


256  GARDENING   OVER  A  WINTER   FIRE. 

with  leaves.  Early  cabbage,  cauliflower,  and 
lettuce  should  be  sown  first.  The  seed  of  pan- 
sies,  petunias,  phlox,  asters,  ten  weeks'  stock, 
and  all  the  Dianthus  tribe  can  be  sown  also. 
I  do  not  think  it  well,  usually,  to  plant  toma- 
toes, pepper,  and  egg-plant  seed  before  the 
2Oth  of  March,  as  they  are  so  impatient  of  cold. 
And  these  last  should  be  planted  in  one  end  of 
the  hot-bed  by  themselves,  as  they  need  less 
airing,  and  more  covering  than  their  hardier 
neighbors.  Great  care  must  be  exercised  in 
preventing  the  plants  from  becoming  chilled 
cold  nights  and  wintry  days,  and  even  more 
vigilance  is  required  in  seeing  that  they  are 
properly  aired  and  hardened  in  their  growth. 
By  leaving  the  sash  closed  with  a  hot  morning 
sun  shining  on  them,  I  have  seen  an  entire  bed 
ruined  in  an  hour.  And  from  want  of  proper 
airing  and  hardening,  the  plants  in  very  many 
hot-beds  are  so  tender  and  spindling  as  to  be 


GARDENING   OVER   A   WINTER    FIRE.  257 

almost  worthless.  When  set  in  the  open 
ground  they  wilt  right  down.  In  the  hands 
of  a  careful  gardener  who  can  give  it  his 
own  supervision,  and  who  carefully  transfers 
the  tender  plants  from  it  to  a  cold  frame,  and 
from  thence  to  the  open  ground,  a  hot-bed  is 
very  useful.  But  in  our  March  weather  it 
requires  considerable  judgment  and  constant 
watchfulness.  To  tell  the  truth,  I  make  little 
use  of  them,  save  for  forcing  lettuce  in  March. 
For  this  purpose  I  find  them  excellent,  and 
have  lettuce  growing  nicely  now,  the  last  of 
February,  though  the  thermometer  has  marked 
six  below  zero  during  the  present  week. 

As  I  have  shown,  I  winter  over  in  cold  frames 
hardy  vegetables  ;  and  even  for  raising  the  ten- 
der ones  in  spring,  I  prefer  the  ordinary  cold 
frame,  with  ground  made  fine  and  very  rich, 
sowing  the  seed  of  hardy  plants  early  in  March, 

and  of  the  tender  ones  the  first  of  April,  and 
17 


258  GARDENING   OVER  A   WINTER   FIRE. 

having  no  other  heat  than  that  of  the  sun  on 
the  glass.  My  tomato  plants  so  raised  may  not 
be  so  large  as  those  from  a  hot-bed,  but  they 
are  hardy,  stocky,  and  go  right  ahead,  when 
set  in  the  open  ground.  My  friend  Mr.  Skene 
often  supplements  my  home  supply  most  liber- 
ally, he  being  furnished  the  means  and  possess- 
ing the  skill  to  do  everything  in  the  best  possi- 
ble way. 

In  many  localities  the  gardeners  can  dispose 
of  a  large  number  of  surplus  plants  if  carefully 
grown,  and  of  varieties  that  they  can  recom- 
mend. I  have  not  done  very  much  in  this  way,  as 
I  have  not  had  the  conveniences  ;  but  in  '71,  one 
thousand  five  hundred  and  twenty-eight  tomato 
plants  were  sold  for  sixteen  dollars  and  seventy- 
three  cents ;  while  thirteen  dollars  and  twenty 
cents  were  received  for  cabbage  and  cauliflower 
plants,  and  a  much  larger  sum  for  the  same  in 
'72. 


GARDENING   OVER   A   WINTER   FIRE.  259 

With  the  first  of  March  commences  the  ut- 
most activity  with  the  cold  frames.  The  sun 
has  now  gained  such  power,  that  so  hardy  a 
vegetable  as  lettuce  will  commence  growing 
under  glass.  The  leaves  are  therefore  thrown 
out  of  the  frames,  and  the  soil,  made  very  rich 
and  fine  last  fall,  is  now  heated  up  by  keeping 
the  sash  on  tightly  a  few  days,  and  then  set 
out  in  plants  which  we  have  been  keeping  in 
the  storage  frames.  As  soon  as  these  are  thus 
emptied,  they  are  forked  over,  enriched,  and 
filled  with  plants  for  heading  also.  By  the 
middle  of  the  month  the  sash  can  be  taken  off 
the  storage  frames  altogether,  and  all  your  glass, 
save  that  used  in  starting  new  seeds,  employed 
in  forcing  lettuce  and  radishes  for  market. 
Even  in  this  winter  of  '73,  the  severest  we  have 
ever  known,  I  expect  to  carry  safely  through 
eight  thousand  plants,  and  by  March  I5th  to 
have  at  least  two  thousand  set  out  for  heading 


260  GARDENING   OVER   A   WINTER    FIRE. 

in  cold  frames.  On  the  22d  of  February  I  had 
two  hundred  and  fifty  growing  finely.  As  soon 
as  the  frost  is  out,  a  warm,  sheltered  place  in 
the  open  garden  can  be  filled  with  the  hardy 
lettuce  plants  from  the  cold  frames,  and  I  have 
had  these  mature  for  market  in  May.  Cabbage 
and  cauliflower  wintered  over  can  also  be  set 
out  in  the  open  garden  as  soon  as  the  ground 
can  be  worked.  In  forcing  lettuce,  great 
watchfulness  is  required.  Of  course,  you  want 
to  keep  up  the  utmost  degree  of  heat  without 
injuring  the  plants,  as  this  brings  them  into 
market  sooner.  But  too  great  heat  may  dam- 
age if  not  spoil  your  crop.  The  danger  in- 
creases as  the  leaves  in  their  growth  approach 
the  glass.  Whenever  the  sun  shines,  it  is  safer 
to  push  the  sash  down  a  little,  even  early  in  the 
morning,  and  give  an  increasing  amount  of 
outer  air  as  the  sun  grows  higher.  In  the 
afternoon  gradually  push  the  sash  up,  and  be- 


GARDENING   OVER   A   WINTER   FIRE.  261 

fore  there  is  any  chill  close  up  tightly.  On 
cold,  cloudy,  windy  days  the  sash  need  not  be 
touched.  If  there  should  come  warm  rains, 
strip  the  sash  off  altogether  ;  and  if  not,  sprinkle 
often  tepid  water,  as  this  greatly  hastens  the 
growth. 

The  spring  of  '71  was  very  mild  and  open, 
and  I  had  lettuce  under  glass  fit  for  use  the 
1 7th  of  March.  It  was  not  full  grown  by  any 
means,  but  pretty  fairly  so,  and  by  the  24th  it 
was  selling  rapidly.  My  sales  for  that  season 
amounted  to  sixty-one  dollars — averaging 
about  four  cents  a  head.  In  the  spring  of  '72 
my  lettuce  sold  for  ninety-one  dollars  and 
eighty-two  cents.  I  have  a  third  more  glass 
in  "73  than  ever  before,  and  hope  for  corre- 
spondingly large  receipts.  After  the  first  of 
June  the  demand  for  this  vegetable  is  not 
worth  mentioning,  and  the  main  crop  is  forced 
under  glass. 


262  GARDENING   OVER   A    WINTER    FIRE. 

To  a  limited  extent  I  have  found  parsnips 
and  salsify  or  oyster  plant  profitable  crops. 
The  earlier  the  seed  is  sown  after  the  frost  is 
out  of  the  ground,  the  better ;  the  salsify 
in  rows  one  foot  apart,  and  plants  three  inches 
in  the  row ;  parsnips  in  rows  fifteen  inches 
apart,  and  thinned  out  so  as  to  stand  four  inches 
from  each  other.  The  soil  where  they  are  grown 
should  be  made  rich  and  deep,  and  good  clean 
cultivation  will  insure  a  large  crop.  In  No- 
vember, what  are  needed  for  winter  can  be  dug, 
put  in  barrels,  and  covered  with  damp  earth,  to 
keep  them  from  wilting  ;  then  stored  in  a  cool 
cellar.  But  the  majority  of  the  roots  can  be 
left  in  the  open  ground  till  spring,  for  freezing 
does  them  good.  As  soon  as  frost  is  out,  they 
can  be  dug  as  required  ;  and  as  vegetables 
are  so  scarce  in  March  and  April,  they 
usually  find  a  ready  sale.  In  the  spring  of 
'71  I  had  three  and  a  quarter  bushels  of 


GARDENING   OVER   A   WINTER   FIRE.  263 

parsnips  to  dispose  of,  but  for  these,  sold  in 
small  quantities,  Thomas  received  six  dollars 
and  eighty-eight  cents.  The  salsify  was  sold 
in  bunches,  ten  or  twelve  roots  in  a  bunch, 
and  seven  dollars  and  eighteen  cents  were  ob- 
tained for  seventy-seven  bunches.  Where  the 
latter  vegetable  is  appreciated  and  meets  with 
ready  sale,  it  can  be  made  very  profitable. 
The  bulk  of  the  crop  should  be  so  stored 
that  it  can  be  sold  during  the  winter.  If 
placed  in  a  cellar,  it  is  very  apt  to  wilt  and 
become  worthless,  and  therefore  should  be 
stored  out  of  doors.  One  simple  way  of  doing 
this  is  to  cut  a  trench  one  foot  in  depth  and 
width,  through  some  dry,  well-drained  ground, 
and  then  pack  the  roots  in  this,  standing  as 
they  grew.  The  earth  may  be  gathered  slightly 
over  them,  so  that  the  green  tops  will  partially 
show  through  it.  They  should  not  be  so  stored 
till  just  before  severe  freezing  weather  com- 


264  GARDENING   OVER  A  WINTER   FIRE. 

mences,  and  they  can  be  so  covered  with  leaves 
and  straw  as  to  be  accessible  any  time  during 
the  winter.  If  parsnips  or  other  roots  are 
raised  in  large  quantities,  they  had  better  be 
stored  in  pits  out  of  doors,  as  most  cellars, 
either  from  heat  or  dryness,  cause  them  to 
decay  or  wilt. 

Once  more  I  will  return  to  the  onion,  and  then 
its  delicate  aroma  shall  no  longer  breathe  through 
these  pages.  But  since  it  is  one  of  the  most 
profitable  crops  of  the  garden,  and  can  be  put 
in  the  ground  even  before  the  frost  is  out  in  the 
spring,  it  must  find  mention  here  again.  The 
beds  that  have  been  wintered  over  should  be 
gradually  but  early  uncovered.  The  plants  are 
hardy  to  the  cold,  but  the  tops  are  apt  to 
smother  and  decay  if  anything  rests  closely  on 
them  when  the  weather  grows  mild.  They  will 
commence  growing  as  soon  as  the  frost  gives 
them  the  slightest  chance,  and  in  '71  I  had  them 


GARDENING    OVER    A    WINTER    FIRE.  265 

fit  for  market  by  March  25th.  When  I  have 
not  a  sufficient  number  started  the  previous  fall, 
I  obtain  a  very  early  supply  for  market  by  put- 
ting out  refuse  and  sprouted  onions,  purchased 
for  a  trifle  at  the  stores.  No  matter  how  large 
or  how  far  gone  they  are,  if  the  germ  is  sound. 
If  the  sprouts  are  long  and  spindling,  cut  them 
off,  about  an  inch  abf>ve  the  bulb.  Set  them 
out  in  very  rich  ground,  as  soon  as  you  have 
even  three  inches  of  soil  above  the  frost.  I 
have  them  put  in  rows,  six  inches  apart,  and 
close  enough  to  touch  each  other.  They  will 
commence  growing  at  once,  and  in  about  four 
weeks  will  be  ready  for  market.  Their  large 
green  tops,  while  young  and  tender,  are  highly 
valued  by  those  who  are  not  much  in  the  kissing 
line.  Thomas  says  that  he  does  not  sell  many 
to  young  ladies.  But  from  the  demand,  I  should 
judge  that  kissing  is  but  a  limited  source  of  hap- 
piness, while  onions  are  quite  the  reverse ;  so 


266  GARDENING    OVER   A   WINTER    FIRE. 

wishing  to  add  as  largely  as  possible  to  the  en- 
joyment of  the  world,  I  plant  much  of  my  gar- 
den in  this  secret  of  human  joy.  A  very  emi- 
nent Divine  once  told  me,  that  this  sacred  vege- 
table contributed  greatly  to  the  increase  and 
nourishment  of  the  brain.  May  not  this  ac- 
count for  the  general  demand  for  it  ?  People 
oppressed  by  the  need  of  brains  instinctively 
turn  to  a  source  of  supply.  But  I  can  assure 
the  prospective  gardener,  whether  he  has  need  of 
brains  or  not,  if  he  has  need  of  cash,  here  is  a 
good  way  of  supplying  it.  The  earlier  in  spring 
he  puts  out  his  "  sets,"  and  "  top  onions,"  or 
sows  the  seed,  the  better ;  for  those  started  first 
seem  to  do  the  best.  In  '71,  one  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  sixty-five  bunches  were  sold 
in  their  green  state  for  ninety-two  dollars  and 
forty-four  cents.  Also  six  bushels  and  eleven 
quarts,  realizing  sixteen  dollars  and  ninety  cents. 
In  addition,  four  and  one-half  bushels  of  sets,  or 


GARDENING   OVER   A   WINTER   FIRE.  267 

little  onions  for  seed,  were  sold  for  twenty-three 
dollars  and  sixty-two  cents.  In  summing  up, 
therefore,  even  if  the  onion  has  not  done  much 
for  me  in  the  way  of  brains,  I  cannot  complain. 
Radishes,  also,  demand  attention  as  early  as 
possible  in  the  market  garden.  I  find  them  a 
profitable  crop  in  the  cold  frame,  and  expect  to 
sow  quite  a  large  space  in  this  way,  while  the 
snow  averages  two  feet  in  depth  over  the  gar- 
den. By  the  loth  of  April,  they  ought  to  be 
ready  for  market.  They  can  be  sown  under 
glass  in  rows  five  inches  apart,  and  the  ground 
should  be  very  fine  and  rich.  I  also  aim  to  sow 
my  main  crop  out  of  doors,  in  March  if  possible, 
on  warm,  light  soil ;  and  I  find  that  it  pays  to 
fill  up  the  shallow  drills  in  which  the  seed  is 
sown,  with  some  black,  well-rotted  manure. 
This  draws  the  sun,  and  stimulates  rapid  growth  ; 
and  unless  a  radish  grows  quickly,  it  is  worth- 
less. It  is  rather  an  uncertain  crop,  as  it  has 


268  GARDENING   OVER   A   WINTER   FIRE. 

serious  enemies  to  contend  with.  In  the  first 
place,  as  soon  as  it  shows  itself  above  the 
ground,  a  little  black  beetle  or  flea  attacks  it, 
and  will  often  destroy  first  plantings  in  a  few 
hours.  I  have  tried  soot  and  other  things,  but 
have  found  no  remedy  so  effective  as  little 
chickens.  Put  a  coop  on  each  side  of  your  rad- 
ish bed,  and  let  the  little  chicks  run  over  it,  and 
they  will  soon  clean  it  thoroughly  of  the  pest. 
This  same  black  flea  will  attack  early  turnips, 
cabbage,  and  indeed  almost  anything  green 
early  in  the  season  ;  and  where  I  have  but  one 
or  two  flocks  of  chickens,  I  have  Thomas  move 
them  every  night,  to  some  point  where  the 
"wicked  flea  "is  specially  destructive,  and  in 
the  morning  the  devourers  are  themselves  de- 
voured. This  is  in  accordance  with  Nature's 
theory,  that  one  thing  should  eat  another  thing, 
and  so  keep  the  ratio  of  existence  nicely  ad- 
justed. That  the  theory  may  be  proved  correct 


GARDENING   OVER  A  WINTER   FIRE.  269 

in  its  last  analysis,  men  and  women  in  America 
do  not  need  cannibals,  for  care  and  worry  do 
the  work  much  more  effectually. 

Another  and  still  more  formidable  difficulty, 
in  radish  cultivation,  is  a  little  white  worm  that 
attacks  the  growing  root.  The  only  remedy 
seems  to  be  to  employ  new  or  different  soil  every 
year,  making  it  so  rich  as  to  secure  such  a  rapid 
growth  that  the  worm  has  no  time  for  its  dep- 
redations. But  I  lose  a  great  many  in  this  way 
every  season.  Besides,  there  is  a  great  differ- 
ence in  radish  seed,  especially  that  of  the  "  Long 
Scarlet  Short  Top,"  which  often  proves  all  top. 
I  have  found  great  differences  in  seed  of  the 
same  name,  some  tending  to  produce  large 
roots  promptly,  and  some  tending  never  to  pro- 
duce them.  I  do  not  think  that  seedsmen  can 
always  know  of  these  differences  themselves.  I 
buy  my  seed  in  small  packages  of  several  deal- 
ers, and  when  I  have  a  package  producing  the 


270  GARDENING   OVER  A  WINTER    FIRE. 

best  and  earliest,  purchase  largely  of  that.  If 
kept  in  a  cool,  dry  place,  the  seed  will  remain 
good  for  several  seasons,  as  it  retains  its  vitality 
for  five  years. 

My  sales  in  '71  were  not  as  large  as  usual, 
but  amounted  to  nine  hundred  and  sixteen 
bunches,  realizing  thirty-five  dollars  and  nine 
cents.  I  have  grown  them  between  beets  and 
other  vegetables,  but  find  that,  unless  you 
have  a  prompt  sale  for  them  the  day  they  are 
ready,  they  are  apt,  by  remaining  a  few  days, 
to  so  injure  the  crops  they  are  grown  with  as 
to  be  unprofitable.  In  a  small  local  market 
you  cannot  sell  out  at  once.  With  your  best 
management,  a  week  or  so  after  you  have  rad- 
ishes every  one  with  a  small  garden  has  them 
also,  and  the  demand  drops  off  rapidly.  I  sow 
my  earliest  beds  where  I  shall  put  egg-plants, 
tomatoes,  and  such  late  tender  vegetables,  and 
they  are  out  of  the  way  in  time  for  these  to  be 


GARDENING   OVER   A   WINTER    FIRE.  271 

set  out  in  May.  The  first  week  in  April  I  also 
have  hills  for  melons,  cucumbers,  etc.,  formed 
about  four  feet  apart,  by  mixing  a  shovel  or 
two  of  light  well-rotted  manure  with  the  soil  and 
rounding  it  up  for  the  sun  to  warm  and  dry  out. 
The  seed  for  the  hills  is  not  planted  till  from 
fifth  to  the  tenth  of  May,  but  the  ground  between 
the  hills  can  be  sown  thickly  with  radishes,  and 
long  before  the  melon  or  other  vines  want  the 
space,  they  are  out  of  the  way.  The  earliest, 
and  those  grown  in  cold  frames,  will  bring  five 
cents  per  bunch  ;  but  when  they  fall  below  two 
cents,  they  do  not  pay,  sold  in  small  quantities. 

March  brings  many  and  varied  labors  in  the 
garden.  Grape-vines  should  be  trimmed  if  they 
were  not  last  fall,  and  the  pruning-knife  should  be 
busy  generally.  Tools,  seeds,  plants,  trees, 
should  be  ready,  or  ordered,  so  that  when  good 
weather  fairly  opens,  not  a  moment  need  be  lost. 

When  we  shall  get  to  work  in  the  open  ground 


272  GARDENING   OVER    A   WINTER    FIRE. 

March,  '73,  it  is  hard  to  say.  Now,  at  the  open- 
ing of  the  month,  snow  covers  the  ground  to  the 
depth  of  two  feet,  and  the  title  of  one  of  Bul- 
wer's  novels,  slightly  changed,  might  well  be  ad- 
dressed to  Nature.  "  What  will"  she  "  do  with 
it"  between  now  and  April  1st  ?  March  prom- 
ises to  maintain  its  proverbial  bad  character  ;  and 
yet  this  month,  so  universally  inveighed  against, 
is  to  me  one  of  the  most  fascinating.  Its  darkest 
•days  are  full  of  hope  and  the  knowledge  of  the 
near  approach  of  spring.  We  laugh  at  winter's 
gloomiest  frowns,  since  %the  old  tyrant  cannot 
long  maintain  them,  and  must  soon  abdicate  in 
favor  of  a  gentler  sovereign.  Already  spring, 
like  a  young  queen  consort,  tempers  his  harsh- 
ness, and  soon  she  will  occupy  the  throne  alone. 
Increasingly  often  there  are  bright,  warm,  sug- 
gestive days  when  the  decrepit  tyrant  cannot 
appear,  and  she,  unchecked,  sways  the  sceptre, 
all  sweetness,  grace,  and  benignity. 


GARDENING   OVER   A   WINTER   FIRE.  273 

Or  to  change  the  figure,  this  season,  so  un- 
certain and  variable,  now  smiling  and  gentle, 
now  harsh  and  forbidding,  reminds  one  of  coy, 
cold  beauty  about  to  yield  to  love's  suit  in  spite 
of  herself.  She  tries,  but  cannot  maintain  her 
frowns,  for  love  softens  her  heart  like  the  subtle 
south  wind  relaxing  the  frozen  earth.  Though 
her  moods  are  abrupt  and  trying  in  their  changes 
they  are  followed  by  remorseful  tears,  just  as  rain 
one  day  seeks  to  banish  the  frost  and  snow  of 
the  preceding.  Her  temper  is  often  high  and 
uncertain,  her  words  arfittle  sharp  and  blustering, 
like  March  winds;  but  wait  patiently  till  all  has 
blown  over,  and  see  how  softly  and  sweetly  she 
will  smile  on  you.  But  don't  presume ;  don't 
felicitate  yourself  too  highly  ;  there  will  proba- 
bly be  a  change.  Patient  wooing  and  wait- 
ing shall  be  well  rewarded  by  the  tearful  peni- 
tence and  sunny  smiles  of  April,  and  warmer 

affection  of  May  and  June. 
18 


XV. 

APRII 
"Bestir,  bestir." 

No  time  for  sentiment  now,  for  Nature  is  not 
only  thoroughly  awake,  but  up  and  busy,  and 
we  shall  do  well  if  we  keep  pace  with  her. 
Seemingly,  there  are  a  dozen  things  to  be  done 
at  once,  these  mild  April  days,  but  one  thing  at 
a  time  is  the  secret  of  progress,  with  some 
modification.  Where  you  have  several  in  help, 
one  or  two  can  often  work  to  better  advantage 
at  a  certain  task  than  half  a  dozen,  and  if  you 
employ  boys,  the  less  they  help  each  other  the 
more  they  accomplish. 

In  the  first  place,  tie  up  your  grape-vines  ; 
don't  leave  them  sprawling  on  the  ground  till 


APRIL.  275 

the  buds  start.  In  this  respect  my  words  have 
all  the  authority  belonging  to  those  of  a  certain 
temperance  lecturer,  who,  in  order  to  be  graphic 
and  forcible,  occasionally  got  drunk,  that  he 
might  speak  from  experience. 

Fruit-trees  and  grape-vines  can  now  again  be 
set  out,  and  the  earlier  it  is  done  the  better. 
This  is  specially  true  in  regard  to  raspberries,  or 
else  the  buds  or  germs  that  are  to  make  the  bear- 
ing canes  for  another  season  will  be  so  far  started 
as  to  render  it  impossible  to  prevent  their  break- 
ing off.  If  a  full  supply  of  all  kinds  of  fruit  were 
not  put  out  the  preceding  fall,  we  would  urge  that 
it  be  done  in  spring,  and  if  done  early  afci  care- 
fully, and  the  ground  kept  mulched  and  moist 
around  the  plants  and  trees  during  the  hot  dry 
weather,  the  gardener  will  have  no  cause  to 
complain. 

For  certainty  of  success  there  is  no  time  for 
putting  out  strawberry  plants  like  April.  If 


2  76  APRIL. 

done  early  in  the  month,  with  ordinary  care, 
they  are  sure  to  grow.  I  aim  to  set  out  one  or 
two  new  beds  every  spring.  When  you  are 
buying  new  and  expensive  varieties  this  is  the 
time,  by  all  means. 

It  is  a  pleasure  and  often  a  source  of  profit  to 
try  a  few  of  the  novelties,  and  some  extraordi- 
nary ones  (on  paper)  are  offered  for  '73  (vide 
catalogues  and  advertisements).  Certain  new 
kinds  are  offered  at  the  modest  sum  of  fifty 
cents  each,  and  one  or  two  of  these  I  shall  try. 
A  single  plant  is  all  you  want.  From  that  you 
can  obtain  fifty  that  will  bear  the  following  sea- 
son, and  so  in  a  small  way  can  thoroughly  test 
the  value  of  the  variety.  If  it  is  what  you  want, 
you  can  raise  enough  new  plants  from  the  fifty 
during  the  second  summer  to  set  out  all  you 
wish,  and  have  many  to  spare.  It  is  therefore 
interesting  to  try  in  this  inexpensive  manner 
some  of  the  large,  new,  highly  recommended 


APRIL.  277 

kinds,  as  among  them  you  may  find  something 
just  adapted  to  your  soil  and  locality.  But  in 
setting  out  largely,  obtain  some  well-known 
variety,  that  your  neighbors  recommend  from 
trial.  Prepare  and  enrich  your  ground 
thoroughly,  and  if  pressed  for  room,  the  spaces 
of  two  feet  between  the  strawberry  rows  can  be 
occupied  by  radishes,  lettuce,  onion  sets,  or 
spring-sown  spinach.  Last  spring  I  had  early 
beets  sown  between  the  rows  of  a  strawberry- 
bed.  The  beets  were  marketed  in  June  and  July, 
and  by  fall  the  strawberry  rows  were  closely 
filled  with  new  strong  plants,  which  promise  a 
very  large  crop  this  year.  Still,  where  ground 
is  plenty,  cultivation  is  more  easy  and  rapid 
when  everything  is  grown  by  itself,  with  wide 
spaces  between,  and  only  very  rich  soil,  with 
careful  culture,  will  bear  crowding. 

Asparagus  and  rhubarb  roots  should  also  be 
set  out  as  early  as  possible  in  April.     As  the 


278  APRIL. 

former  may  remain  in  bearing  on  the  same 
ground  for  twenty-five  or  thirty  years,  the  most 
careful  preparation  is  required,  and  yet  we  do 
not  think  there  is  any  need  of  going  to  the 
great  expense  that  many  indulge  in.  If  a  small 
bed  is  to  be  made  in  a  garden,  let  it  be  trenched 
and  enriched  to  the  depth  of  two  feet.  In  the 
spring  of  '72  I  put  out  quite  a  large  bed  of  Con- 
over's  colossal  asparagus.  I  obtained  the  roo'ts 
of  R.  H.  Allen  &  Co.,  and  do  not  remember 
whether  they  were  one  or  two  years  old,  but 
they  were  of  fair  size  and  in  good  order.  I  put 
them  out  in  some  of  my  best  ground,  in  the  fol- 
lowing simple  way  :  Commencing  at  one  end  of 
the  bed  that  had  been  well  prepared,  my  gar- 
dener opened  a  trench  about  fourteen  inches 
deep  and  slightly  slanting  on  one  side.  The 
plants  were  then  leaned  against  the  slanting 
side,  one  foot  apart  from  each  other,  and 
enough  good  soil  thrown  around  to  partially 


cover  and  keep  them  in  their  place,  and  a  small 
shovel  of  rotted  manure  given  to  each  plant. 
Stepping  back  two  feet,  another  trench  was 
opened,  and  the  plants  treated  in  the  same  man- 
ner, and  in  this  way  the  entire  bed  was  soon 
planted,  and  the  soil  over  the  plants  (which 
were  covered  about  four  inches)  was  left  smooth 
and  untramped.  Although  a  fine  crop  of  beets 
was  raised  between  these  rows,  the  asparagus 
made  a  very  vigorous  growth,  and  if  I  should 
decide  to  cut  it  the  second  year  from  planting 
(as  I  probably  shall,  since  it  is  on  leased  land), 
there  will  be  a  fair  crop.  When  the  very  best 
results  are  aimed  at,  and  the  purpose  is  to  main- 
tain the  bed  in  good  productiveness  as  long 
as  possible,  it  is  best  not  to  cut  the  young 
asparagus  shoots  till  the  third  year. 

All  the  cultivation  required  is  to  keep  the 
ground  clean  and  mellow  during  the  summer. 
In  field  culture  the  rows  had  better  be  three  feet 


280  APRIL. 

apart,  so  that  a  cultivator  can  run  between  them. 
In  the  fall  the  bed  should  be  mowed  off,  and 
those  tops  that  are  not  full  of  seed  make  an 
excellent  covering  for  such  hardy  plants  as 
require  but  slight  protection.  Cover  the  bed  if 
small,  or  the  rows  if  large,  with  three  inches  of 
manure,  before  hard  freezing  weather  com- 
mences in  fall,  and  your  asparagus  so  treated 
will  not  fail  to  give  good  satisfaction.  It  is  a 
vegetable  that  always  sells,  and  I  doubt  if  the 
market  ever  will  be  overstocked. 

Perhaps  there  is  no  crop  that  the  possessor  of 
a  garden  near  a  small  local  market  could  grow 
'with  greater  prospects  of  success  than  this,  if  he 
has  the  patience  to  put  it  out  in  the  right  way 
and  take  good  care  of  it.  Being  in  itself  such  a 
favorite,  and  coming  when  there  is  so  little 
variety  for  the  table,  it  always  sells  high.  It 
will  adapt  itself  to  any  soil  that  is  well  enriched 
and  kept  so,  and  when  treated  in  accordance 


APRIL.  28l 

with  its  nature — that  is,  given  ground  where  it 
grows  with  its  native  vigor— it  makes  a  large 
return.  In  its  wild  state  it  flourishes  along  the 
coast  in  certain  regions  of  Europe  and  Asia,  and 
since  its  introduction  to  this  country,  has  found 
its  way  in  some  instances  to  the  beaches  and 
marshes  of  our  own  shores.  Hints  from  its 
history  and  taste  should  be  taken,  and  we 
should  seek  to  give  it  a  soil  suited  to  its  peculiar 
habit.  If  we  have  on  our  places  a  sandy  alluvial 
piece  of  ground  and  will  deepen  and  enrich  it, 
we  would  have  no  trouble  in  raising  large 
paying  crops  of  asparagus.  A  swamp  that  can 
be  thoroughly  drained  so  that  no  water  would 
stand  at  any  time  of  the  year,  would  also  make  a 
fine  place  for  a  late  crop.  Indeed,  great  ad- 
vantage would  be  secured  by  such  variety  of 
soil  as  would  give  a  succession.  Some  very 
warm  location  with  a  light  sandy  soil  might  be 
selected  for  the  early  growth,  and  a  cooler, 


282  APRIL. 

moister  soil  for  the  main  crop.  Of  course  the 
earliest  would  bring,  in  most  places,  by  far  the 
largest  price.  But  I  find  that  in  my  local 
market  the  fluctuations  of  price  are  not  very 
great.  I  cannot,  to  any  extent,  reach  the  New 
York  fancy  retail  mark,  even  for  articles  sold 
in  this  way,  nor  do  they  often  fall  below  a  fair 
paying  return.  I  am  well  satisfied  that  a  large 
bed  of  asparagus  would  give  a  profitable  crop 
that  could  be  depended  on  every  year.  One 
naturally  hesitates  in  putting  out  a  crop  of 
this  character  on  leased  ground.  It  is  the  same 
as  setting  out  grape-vines,  and  you  cannot 
expect  much  return  before  the  third  year.  And 
yet  I  have  done  this,  believing  that  but  one  or 
two  crops  of  so  fine  a  vegetable  would  repay  all 
trouble.  But  if  one  has  bought  a  place  to  sell 
again,  and  therefore  their  stay  may  be  transient 
or  at  least  uncertain,  we  would  advise  them  to 
put  out  a  bed  by  all  means.  One  good  crop 


APRIL.  .  283 

would  nearly  if  not  quite  compensate  for  outlay, 
and  an  asparagus  bed  ought  to  be  regarded  as 
a  permanent  improvement  like  an  orchard,  and 
should  add  to  the  value  of  a  place. 

Those  of  us  whose  gardens  are  not  near  the 
coast,  will  find  salt  very  beneficial  to  our  aspar- 
agus. Two  pounds  to  the  square  yard  can 
be  scattered  over  the  ground  very  early  in 
spring,  as  soon  as  the  ground  is  forked  over, 
and  the  rain  will  wash  it  down.  While  helping 
the  vegetable,  it  will  disgust  the  bugs,  worms, 
and  weeds  generally,  they  having  no  sympathy 
with  the  "salt  of  the  earth." 

But  with  rhubarb  a  small  local  market  can 
easily  be  more  than  supplied.  I  have  about 
twice  as  much  as  we  need,  but  as  it  takes  up 
but  little  room,  and  requires  not  a  great  deal  of 
attention,  I  let  it  grow,  intending  to  try  to  in- 
crease the  demand  by  selling  it  cheaply. 

As   this  vegetable    also   stands  a  number  of 


284  APRIL. 

years  on  the  same  ground,  thorough  prepara- 
tion should  be  made  for  it.  The  soil  cannot  be 
made  too  rich,  and  every  spring  it  must  be 
abundantly  stimulated ;  and  this,  with  keeping 
it  free  from  weeds,  is  all  that  is  required.  I 
have  Thomas  put  a  good  shovel  of  manure  on 
the  crown  of  every  plant  in  November,  and 
this  keeps  them  warm,  and  starts  them  early  in 
spring.  The  ground  should  be  dug  around 
them  as  soon  as  the  frost  is  out. 

The  earlier  new  plants  are  set  out  the  better. 
They  can  be  procured  at  any  seed  store,  and, 
for  a  local  market,  it  is  best  to  order  the  largest 
variety,  even  if  it  is  a  little  later.  The  plants 
should  be  set  so  that  the  crown,  or  bud,  is 
barely  under  ground.  Make  the  rows  four  feet 
apart,  and  let  the  roots  stand  three  feet  from 
each  other  in  the  row.  Its  time  of  readiness 
for  market  will  vary  with  the  season.  In 
'71  my  sales  commenced  April  28th,  and  for 


APRIL.  285 

two  hundred  and  seventeen  bunches,  twenty 
dollars  and  fifty  cents  were  received ;  while 
in  '72,  it  was  May  8th  before  any  were  sold  ; 
but  the  crop  was  larger  and  better.  If 
speculators  in  sugar  would  only  send  all 
families  in  the  country  a  dozen  or  more  rhu- 
barb plants,  there  is  no  telling  what  fortunes 
might  be  made.  I  make  this  saccharine  sug- 
gestion to  avert  any  charge  of  acidity  of  style ; 
but  if  this  hint  is  followed,  and  fortunes  are 
made,  I  shall  expect  my  share,  and  no  investi- 
gations. 

Quinces  can  now  be  set  out  also  to  good 
advantage.  Instead  of  letting  them  grow  into 
scraggly  bushes,  it  is  much  better  to  prune 
them  into  shapely  pyramidal  trees  (but  please 
do  not  inquire  into  my  practice).  Currant  and 
gooseberry  cuttings  can  still  be  put  out,  as 
directed,  in  the  fall,  or  the  earth  heaped  up 


286  APRIL. 

about  those  designed  for  division  into  new 
plants,  but  it  must  be  done  early. 

Those  who  live  in  Virginia,  and  South, 
should  set  out  their  fig-trees  now.  When 
chaplain  at  Fortress  Monroe,  I  raised  them 
with  the  same  ease  that  we  do  currants  here ; 
and  the  fruit  is  such  a  favorite  one  with  me, 
that  I  shall  try  them  in  our  latitude  this  spring, 
laying  them  down  and  burying  them  like  rasp- 
berries in  the  fall. 

I  raise  mainly  the  dwarf  varieties  of  peas,  and 
having  tried  several,  I  have  at  last  settled  down 
on  two  varieties — the  "Tom  Thumb  " for  earliest 
crop,  and  McLean's  Little  Gem  for  second. 
The  first  is  very  hardy,  and  can  be  planted  as 
soon  as  the  frost  is  out  of  the  ground — the  earlier 
the  better.  It  grows  about  eight  inches  high, 
and  if  not  planted  too  closely  in  the  row  is  very 
prolific.  I  have  had  them  and  the  tall  Marrow- 
fat growing  at  the  same  time  in  my  garden,  and 


APRIL.  287 

found  that  a  vine  of  the  Tom  Thumb  produced 
as  many  pods  as  a  vine  of  the  tall  variety  stand- 
ing between  four  and  five  feet  high.  The  rows 
of  Tom  Thumb  can  be  planted  one  foot  apart, 
the  others  four  feet,  and  require  brush  at  that. 
But  to  get  a  paying  crop  from  the  dwarfs  they 
must  be  planted  early  on  very  rich  soil.  I  find 
it  pays  well  to  drill  in  well-rotted  manure  with 
the  seed.  McLean's  Little  Gems  are  not  quite 
so  hardy,  and  should  not  be  planted  till  after  the 
soil  becomes  a  little  warmer  and  drier.  When 
ground  is  scarce  and  valuable,  as  with  me,  I  find 
these  dwarf  varieties  pay  much  the  best,  as  I 
can  plant  them  between  other  crops,  such  as 
raspberries,  sweet  corn,  lima  beans,  cucumbers, 
etc.  The  Tom  Thumb,  if  sown  very  early,  will 
mature  about  the  2Oth  of  June  in  our  region, 
and  as  the  pods  all  fill  out  at  once  the  vines  can 
be  pulled  up  as  they  are  picked,  and  thus  they 
are  out  of  the  way  of  the  crops  they  were  grow- 


288  APRIL. 

ing  between.  I  always  fill  up  my  tomato  ground 
this  way  the  last  of  March  or  first  of  April. 
One  of  the  simplest  methods  is  to  open  a  double 
row  three  and  a  half  feet  apart.  This  double 
row  consists  of  two  shallow  trenches  three  or 
four  inches  deep  and  five  inches  apart.  In  these 
the  peas  are  sown  so  as  to  stand  about  an  inch 
from  each  other,  and  slightly  covered.  If  then 
black,  well-rotted  manure  is  scattered  over  them, 
it  will  draw  the  sun  and  greatly  stimulate  their 
growth.  By  the  loth  of  May,  tomato  plants 
can  be  set  out  between  these  double  rows,  and 
one  crop  will  not  interfere  with  the  other,  for 
long  before  the  tomatoes  cover  the  ground,  the 
peas  will  be  gathered  and  sold.  Of  course  this 
will  only  pay  in  small  gardens  where  cultivation 
with  a  plough  is  not  practised.  I  also  aimed  by 
planting  McLean's  Little  Gems,  and  some  later 
kinds,  to  have  a  succession  of  crops  ;  and  as 
they  were  mostly  sold  in  small  quantities  to 


APRIL.  289 

those  who  valued  quality,  eighteen  bushels  and 
fourteen  quarts  brought  the  large  sum  of  forty- 
three  dollars  and  sixty  cents.  For  field  culture, 
where  ground  is  plenty,  and  not  very  rich,  the 
tall  kinds,  like  Dan  O'Burk,  McLean's  Advan- 
cer, and  Champion  of  England,  are  doubtless  the 
best.  But  don't  hire  your  men  to  pick  them  by 
the  day.  I  gave  an  Irishman  twelve  shillings 
last  summer  to  pick  about  fifty  cents'  worth  of 
peas. 

He  would  be  little  better  than  a  heathen  (agri- 
culturally) who  raised  no  peas  for  home  supply  ; 
but  we  have  strong  doubts  as  to  the  profitableness 
of  this  vegetable  for  market.  I  think  you  can 
raise  more  strawberries  to  the  acre  than  you  can 
peas.  You  can  pick  a  bushel  of  the  fruit  as  soon, 
and  the  latter  will  bring  from  six  to  ten  dollars  a 
bushel,  while  for  the  former  you  often  cannot 
get  one  dollar.  For  a  small  local  market  it  will 

pay  well   to  plant  the   dwarfs   between   other 
19 


290  APRIL. 

crops,  thus  making  your  ground  do  double 
duty.  Or  growing  the  best  and  largest  kinds, 
like  the  Champion  of  England,  giving  them 
brush  and  extra  care,  will  compensate  the  gar- 
dener, if  he  is  not  limited  in  land,  and  can  ob- 
tain a  fair  price  through  the  season.  For  the 
choice  wrinkled  varieties,  picked  young  and  de- 
liciously  fresh,  people  ought  to  be  willing  to  pay 
double  price.  With  the  majority  who  buy  at 
market,  however,  a  peck  of  peas  is  a  peck  of 
peas,  whether  it  came  from  Long  Island  or 
Norfolk  a  week  ago,  or  that  morning  from  a 
neighboring  garden,  and  price  alone  is  con- 
sidered. 

There  is  no  use  of  trying  to  grow  this  vege- 
table on  a  large  scale,  unless  you  are  near  some 
village,  and  can  employ  a  dozen  pickers  or  more, 
the  day  it  is  ready.  The  pods  will  become  un- 
salable almost  as  soon  as  small  fruit  if  left  on 
the  vines,  and  the  difference  of  one  day  in  the 


APRIL.  2pl 

market  price  may  be  that  of  utter  loss  instead  of 
good  profit.  In  our  region  very  early  and  very 
late  crops  sell  for  the  largest  sums. 

For  further  pea-ticulars,  see  Mr.  Burr's  valu- 
able book,  in  which  he  reduces  one  hundred  and 
sixty-two  varieties  named  to  only  seventy-three, 
and  these  he  describes. 


XVI. 

GRAFTING,  OR  HORTICULTURAL  CONVERSION. 

DURING  the  first  warm  still  days  of  this  month, 
as  soon  as  the  buds  begin  to  swell,  grafting 
should  be  performed.  The  operation  is  neither 
so  agreeable  nor  successful  on  cold,  windy  days. 
This  simple  but  very  useful  labor  of  spring  can 
be  learned  by  once  witnessing  it,  better  than 
from  any  description ;  and  in  every  locality  there 
are  adepts  in  the  art,  who  will  either  do  the  work 
or  show  the  amateur  how  to  perform  it  himself, 
which  is  better.  On  almost  every  place  there 
are  vigorous  young  trees  grown  from  chance 
seed,  but  this  wild  or  natural  fruit  is  of  but  lit- 
tle value.  By  a  few  grafts  we  can  put  all  this 
native  vigor  of  growth  into  some  of  the  most 


GRAFTING,  OR   HORTICULTURAL   CONVERSION.    293 

approved  luscious  varieties.  Why  cannot  re- 
formers and  teachers  work  more  on  this  princi- 
ple ?  With  multitudes,  repression  seems  the 
favorite  method  of  getting  the  world  right. 
"Thou  shalt  not"  enact  government.  "It  is 
not  proper,"  cries  society  with  elevated  eye- 
brows. "You  mustn't  do  this,  don't  do  that," 
constantly  falls  on  the  little  children's  ears  ;  and 
preaching  consists  more  largely  in  telling  men 
what  they  ought  not  to  do,  than  in  what  they 
may  and  should  do.  Nice  little  boys  and  girls, 
that  were  started  rightly  from  the  first,  and  had 
grace  "budded  in  "  with  their  mother's  milk, 
get  along  very  well.  They  go  out  into  the  world 
like  trees  from  the  rows  in  the  nursery,  straight, 
pruned,  labelled,  and  warranted,  though  often  a 
little  weakly.  Still  they  have  much  to  be  thank- 
ful for,  and  all  they  have  to  do  is  to  grow  as 
they  have  been  directed.  But  society  is  full  of 
boys  and  girls  that  have  come  up  on  "  their  own 


294   GRAFTING,  OR   HORTICULTURAL   CONVERSION. 

hook,"  to  use  their  own  vernacular;  just  as  we 
find  wild  apple,  cherry,  and  pear  trees  growing 
along  fences,  in  thickets  and  all  sorts  of  unex- 
pected places. 

As  a  general  thing,  these  fortuitous  youth  are 
morally  not  elected  or  highly  favored,  and  when 
mature  enough  to  bear  the  fruit  of  characteristic 
deeds,  we  say : 

The  less  of  that  kind  the  better. 

But  what  shall  we  do  with  them  ?  Repression, 
cutting  back,  only  increases  their  wild  growth. 
To  be  sure  we  can  dig  them  out,  root  and 
branch,  and  destroy  them ;  and  this  was  society's 
ancient  course  with  those  unruly  members  who 
would  not  grow  morally,  mentally,  and  religi- 
ously in  the  narrow  little  mould  of  the  times. 
But  this  will  not  answer  now,  much  as  some 
good  people  would  like  to  try  it. 

But  what  shall  we  do  ?     Nature  teaches  us. 

A  few  feet  away  from  my  parsonage-door,  a 


GRAFTING,  OR   HORTICULTURAL   CONVERSION.    295 

young  cherry  sapling  took  a  notion  to  grow. 
Nobody  planted  it,  nobody  wanted  it  there. 
It  was  rather  in  the  way,  and  how  it  managed 
to  escape  being  trampled  down  or  cut  down,  is 
a  mystery  akin  to  that  of  the  life  and  vigor  of 
some  children  against  whom  everything  seems 
to  conspire.  Before  I  realized  it,  there  was 
flourishing  right  before  my  door  a  tall,  shapely 
sapling,  but  in  a  state  of  nature  rather  than  one 
of  grace,  and  commencing  to  bear  villanously 
small  and  bitter  fruit. 

Something  must  be  done.  To  let  it  grow  on 
its  rampant  style,  and  destroy  with  its  baneful 
shade  two  saintly  little  pear-trees  standing  near, 
would  not  answer.  To  dig  it  out  would  be  a 
mean,  cowardly  way  of  meeting  the  question, 
besides  being  unscriptural.  Indeed,  my  reputa- 
tion as  a  clergyman  was  at  stake.  If  I  could 
not  convert  this  little  horticultural  sinner  grow- 
ing right  under  my  nose,  what  impression  could 


296    GRAFTING,  OR   HORTICULTURAL   CONVERSION. 

I  hope  to  make  on  the  unregenerate  world  at 
large  ? 

Not  far  off,  there  was  a  tree  of  large,  splendid 
ox-hearts.  Cutting  a  scion  or  twig,  four  inches 
long,  of  the  preceding  summer's  growth,  from 
this,  I  carefully  grafted  the  main  stem  of  the 
child  of  nature  ;  but  made  it  a  point  to  leave  a 
few  little  branches  on  which  the  young  blood 
(sap,  I  should  say)  could  expend  some  of  its 
superabundant  vitality. 

Here  is  another  point  where  reformers  bring 
in  their  everlasting  repression.  Even  when  they 
give  some  irrepressible  young  sinner  good 
wholesome  work  to  do,  they  insist  on  his  doing 
that  and  nothing  else.  It  is  the  same  as  if  they 
required  that  the  old  life  of  the  tree  should  cease 
at  once,  and  every  drop  of  sap  go  into  the  graft. 
It  can't  do  it,  and  it  won't.  Leave  some  little 
branches  to  grow  with  the  graft  a  year  or  so, 
gradually  pruning  them  out,  and  throwing  the 


GRAFTING,  OR   HORTICULTURAL    CONVERSION.    297 

whole  strength  into  the  increasing  graft.  The 
tree  will  submit  kindly  to  this  considerate  treat- 
ment, though  it  will  not  stand  a  square  cut  from 
sinner  to  saint,  but  right  through  its  bark,  every- 
where will  throw  out  buds  of  the  old  stock  with 
resentful  frequency  and  power.  I  do  not  know 
how  it  is  with  my  brethren,  but  I  find  the  same 
principle  holds  good  in  the  parish. 

At  any  rate,  this  treatment  was  most  successful 
on  the  subject  described,  and  I  gradually  in- 
duced all  its  abounding  vigor  to  go  into  the 
graft  alone,  and  last  summer  it  bore  some  of  the 
largest,  finest  cherries  I  ever  saw. 

This  suggests  a  very  serious  blunder  I  once 
made,  while  seeking  to  bring  about  a  certain 
horticultural  reformation.  In  this  case  the  tree 
was  past  the  sapling  stage,  and  might  be  de- 
scribed in  its  early  prime,  reminding  one  of  a 
young  man  at  the  age  of  twenty-five. 

Indeed,  it  did  remind  me  of  several  young 


298    GRAFTING,  OR   HORTICULTURAL   CONVERSION. 

men,  and  young  ladies  too,  that  I  knew  of,  who 
were  well  educated,  abounding  in  health  and 
strength,  but  whose  lives  bid  fair  to  be  as  use- 
less as  that  of  my  cherry-tree.  Those  of  us  who 
regard  present  existence  as  something  more  than 
a  "  play  spell,"  often  look  very  wistfully  and  re- 
gretfully on  the  waste  of  human  vitality  around 
us.  The  world  seems  to  us  like  a  garden  that 
might  be  abundantly  productive  of  fruits  so 
precious,  that  angels  would  store  them  in  heav- 
enly garners ;  and  yet  it  is  ready  to  perish  for 
lack  of  weeding  and  cultivation. 

So  it  appeared  to  the  Divine  Husbandman, 
and  He  commands  all  to  labor  in  His  vineyard. 

With  what  just  pride  ladies  have  shown  me 
some  rose-bush,  geranium,  or  calla  lily,  that 
they  have  nursed  through  the  cold  winter,  till  in 
early  spring  they  were  rewarded  by  a  fragrant 
bloom  of  floral  gratitude  !  How  often  I  have 
gone  with  a  happy  amateur,  to  witness  some 


GRAFTING,  OR   HORTICULTURAL    CONVERSION.    299 

unusual  success  achieved  in  his  garden  !  If  we 
were  all  amateurs  in  the  vineyard  of  the  Lord, 
throwing  our  hearts  into  the  work  of  stimulat- 
ing and  training  character  into  symmetrical, 
fruitful,  deathless  life,  how  this  wilderness  world 
would  blossom !  Too  often  we  are  like  the  hire- 
ling, whose  aim  seems  merely  to  "  put  in  the 
day"  and  get  his  "penny."  But  plants  and 
human  souls  are  alike  in  this,  that  they  feel 
and  recognize  the  touch  of  love ;  and  the  mysti- 
cal and  material  garden  both  thrive  doubly  well 
under  the  care  of  those  who  work  con  amore, 
rather  than  officially. 

But  the  saddest  part  of  it  all  is,  that  the  ma- 
jority will  not  work  at  all  in  the  way  of  pro- 
ducing anything  of  real  value.  They  are  like 
my  cherry-tree,  and  all  their  native  vigor  and 
activity  results  in  that  which  adds  nothing  to 
the  well-being  of  the  world. 

What   would    I   not    give    for    the   physical 


300   GRAFTING,  OR   HORTICULTURAL   CONVERSION. 

strength  and  health  of  some  of  the  young  men 
above  referred  to,  whose  days  are  spent  in 
smoking,  reading  questionable  novels,  dressing, 
dancing,  flirting,  driving,  card-playing,  etc. 

With  the  exception  of  smoking  (perhaps),  the 
same  occupations  fill  the  days  of  multitudes  of 
ladies.  The  result  of  their  lives,  put  in  a  mathe- 
matical form,  would  be  something  as  follows  : 

Mr.  Augustus  Le  Grand  =  froth. 

Miss  Laura  De  Flirte  =  froth. 

The  world — both  =  to  a  garden  with  two 
weeds  pulled  out. 

The  parties  themselves,  if  honest  ^s\A,  educated t 
would  admit  this  summing  of  their  lives  to  be 
correct.  It's  rather  strange  that  they  are  so 
contented,  in  view  of  the  truth. 

In  the  above  light  the  cynical  philosopher 
may  justly  regard  those  who,  in  a  world  so  full 
of  work,  and  in  such  need  of  work  of  all  kinds, 
aim  to  be  only  idlers.  On  the  Lycurgan  prin- 


GRAFTING,  OR   HORTICULTURAL   CONVERSION.    30! 

ciple  of  anything  for  the  good  of  the  state, 
they  would  be  quietly  strangled. 

But  the  spirit  of  Christianity  is  opposite  to  all 
this,  and  leads  us  to  look  at  this  class  as  I  did 
at  my  thrifty  but  worse  than  useless  cherry- 
tree,  whose  fruit  was  only  a  large  pit  with  a  bit- 
ter skin  drawn  over  it.  If  its  abundant  vitality, 
however,  could  be  turned  into  useful  channels 
— that  is,  into  grafts  of  some  excellent  variety, — 
how  much  better  thus  to  utilize  life  by  conver- 
sion to  noble  ends,  than  to  destroy  it  ? 

Early  in  April,  therefore,  every  branch  of 
sufficient  size,  from  the  top  down,  was  grafted  ; 
and  in  due  time  they  were  nearly  all  growing 
finely,  and  I  felt  that  I  should  now  have  a 
practical  convert  standing  before  my  house,  that 
would  tend  to  inspire  general  confidence  in  my 
ministry. 

But  now  comes  in  my  irrational  blunder,  and 
one  that  I  fear  is  too  common  on  the  part  of 


302    GRAFTING,  OR   HORTICULTURAL    CONVERSION. 

reformers,  as  before  stated.  I  had  left  a  good 
many  small  branches  scattered  about  the  tree, 
but  when  the  grafts  commenced  growing,  I 
resolved  that  all  the  strength  should  go  into 
them,  that  the  old  wild  life  should  cease  at  once, 
and  that  I  should  have  a  cherry-tree  saint  from 
the  start.  Just  as  we  often  say  to  people  that 
we  are  trying  to  lead  to  better  things  : 

"tfou  must  do  everything  that  is  right,  and 
nothing  that  is  wrong." 

So  I  said  to  my  great  rampant  young  tree, 
you  must  put  all  your  power  into  those  little 
scions  five  inches  long,  and  develop  those.  All 
branches  of  your  former  doings  must  be  stopped. 

And  what  the  result  ?  Why,  the  shock  was 
too  great ;  the  transition  too  sharp  and  short ; 
and  the  tree,  utterly  discouraged  seemingly, 
gave  up  in  despair  and  died. 

We  read  Paul's  exhortation  to  "  Grow  in 
grace"  as  if  it  were  "Jump  into  grace." 


GRAFTING,  OR  HORTICULTURAL   CONVERSION.    303 

Nature,  human  and  horticultural,  improves  by 
growth,  and  synods,  councils,  and  reformers 
cannot  change  this  Divine  law.  I  am  now  satis- 
fied that  my  wild  young  blade  of  a  tree  might 
have  been  converted  into  a  most  fruitful  mem- 
ber of  the  garden ;  but  it  stood  a  long  time  a 
blasted  monument  of  my  blundering  zeal,  for  I 
let  it  remain  as  a  warning. 

This  subject  of  grafting,  or  horticultural  con- 
version, is  very  suggestive,  and  has  many  analo- 
gies to  moral  experience.  The  earlier  in  life  it 
takes  place,  the  readier  the  growth  and  the 
better  the  chances,  is  a  truism  in  both  cases. 
Still,  trees  quite  advanced  in  life  can  often  be 
grafted  to  great  advantage,  and  where  space  is 
limited,  and  trees  of  necessity  must  be  few,  quite 
a  variety  can  soon  be  secured  by  putting  in 
scions  of  different  kinds.  For  instance,  on  the 
south  side  of  an  apple-tree,  some  good  early  or 
"harvest"  variety  might  be  grafted  in  the 


304    GRAFTING,  OR   HORTICULTURAL    CONVERSION. 

branches,  a  fall  apple  on  the  west  side,  and  a 
late  winter  apple  on  the  remaining  boughs ; 
gradually,  as  we  have  shown,  the  whole  strength 
of  the  tree  could  be  thrown  into  these  grafts,  and 
the  different  kinds  would  grow  amicably  from 
one  stem;  indicating  that  a  good  man  can  be 
useful  in  more  ways  than  one. 

The  same  is  true  of  a  pear  or  a  cherry  tree  ; 
so  that  by  judicious  grafting  we  can  bring  all 
the  fruit  on  our  places  up  to  a  high  standard. 

Whenever  we  observe  any  unusually  fine  fruit, 
we  can  no  doubt  obtain  permission  from  the 
possessor  to  cut  a  few  scions.  This  should  be 
done  in  March,  before  the  buds  swell ;  and  the 
grafts  should  be  kept  in  the  cellar  packed  in 
moist  sand  or  earth  till  we  wish  to  use  them,  so 
that  they  may  not  shrivel.  When  the  buds  on 
the  trees  begin  to  show  that  the  sap  is  flowing 
freely,  then  graft  in  the  scions,  and  in  a  strong 


GRAFTING,  OR  HORTICULTURAL  CONVERSION.  305 

tree  you  probably  have  a  little  fruit  in  the  third 
year. 

But  on  one  hand  do  not  try  to  convert  too 
fast  by  cutting  back  everything  save  the  grafts  ; 
and  on  the  other,  convert  as  fast  as  you  can 
safely,  by  gradually  putting  the  whole  strength 
of  the  tree  into  the  grafts ;  for  if  but  one  branch 
of  the  old  stock  is  left  to  have  its  own  way  for 
all  time,  it  will  crowd  out  and  kill  the  approved 
varieties  with  certainty. 

I  am  astonished  that  there  is  not  a  chair  on 
grafting  in  our  theological  seminaries. 
20 


XVII. 

CORN  AND  BEANS,   ETC. — (SUCCOTASH.) 

I  LEAN  to  the  Epicurean  rather  than  to  the 
Stoic  philosophy.  Indeed,  as  far  as  I  am  ac- 
quainted with  the  traditions  of  my  childhood, 
I  never  was  much  of  a  Stoic  in  silent  endurance 
of  "  outrageous  fortune  "  armed  (justly,  I  fear) 
with  a  rod,  and  I  am  satisfied  that  I  was  any- 
thing but  nonchalant  when  her  smiles  meant 
mince-pie  and  jelly-cake.  I  suppose  the  man 
is  wrapped  up  in  the  boy,  just  as  the  oak  in 
the  acorn.  At  any  rate,  I  imagine  that  my 
heart  will  ever  yearn  over  the  place  that  min- 
isters so  much  to  every  sense  as  the  garden. 
Mine,  as  I  have  shown,  furnishes  me  with  mu- 
sic ;  and  I  have  heard  nothing  at  the  academy 


CORN   AND    BEANS,  ETC.  307 

in  New  York  equal  to  the  concerts  given  in  the 
trees  around  our  ivy-covered  porch. 

Why  should  I  speak  of  the  sense  of  sight  ! 
It  seems  like  proving  the  self-evident  and  en- 
larging on  an  axiom.  The  genuine  gardener 
enjoys  seeing  even  a  pumpkin  grow,  though 
the  word  "  sprawl  "  is  most  characteristic  of 
its  existence.  How  great  and  varied  are  the 
pleasures  that  Nature  provides  when,  in  addition 
to  being  bountiful  in  exquisite  flowers,  she  also 
gives  to  every  fruit  and  vegetable  some  peculiar 
touch  of  grace  and  beauty. 

Then  there  is  the  sense  of  smelling,  which  we 
do  not  half  appreciate  enough,  perhaps  because 
so  often  it  is  a  misfortune.  When  we  consider 
the  millions  who  live  in  cities,  and  through 
whose  open  windows  the  zephyr  blows  direct 
from  the  gutter  instead  of  a  bed  of  mignonette, 
and  the  millions  in  the  country  who  have  a  pig- 
sty near  the  house  instead  of  a  rose-arbor,  it 


308  CORN   AND    BEANS,  ETC. 

may  be  questioned  whether  the  world  would 
not  be  better  off  with  four  senses  instead  of 
five.  It  would  seem,  though,  that  to  the  latter 
class  the  choice  of  the  two  odors  was  a  matter 
of  taste,  and  that  the  near  proximity  of  the 
sty  and  the  absence  of  the  roses  indicated  their 
preference. 

But  a  man  with  a  cultivated,  indeed  we  may 
say  broadly,  a  civilized  nose,  is  blessed  in  a  gar- 
den. We  have  all  noticed  how  a  drop  or  two  of 
some  powerful  perfume  falling  on  a  book,  table, 
or  garment  will  distil  its  faint  deliciousness  for 
weeks  and  months.  Not  a  little  of  the  essence 
of  Eden  has  fallen  on  the  modern  garden,  and 
lingers  there  from  early  spring  till  winter.  I  do 
not  refer  to  a  cabbage  patch  on  the  wane,  or 
anything  else  on  the  wane,  which  slovenly  gar- 
deners leave  around  ;  and  it  is  not  for  me  to 
irreverently  dispute  the  voice  of  antiquity  in  re- 
gard to  the  onion.  I  must  admire  here  as  in 


CORN   AND    BEANS,  ETC.  309 

some  other  cases  that  I  cannot  understand,  the 
ancient  wisdom  of  the  world.  Only  great  or 
rash  souls  willingly  become  heretics  and  trample 
on  the  authority  of  ages. 

But  my  garden  in  the  main  is  to  my  modern 
unsophisticated  nose  like  the  Spice  Islands  of 
the  Pacific  Ocean.  Even  the  fresh-turned  soil 
in  spring,  before  a  seed  has  germinated  or  a 
bud  swollen,  has  a  wholesome,  grateful  odor ; 
and  soon  the  reviving  grass  in  the  lawn,  the 
opening  of  fragrant  buds,  and  modest  violets 
like  timid  blue  eyes  shyly  watching  you,  the 
glowing  crocus  and  wax-like  hyacinths,  and 
many  others,  all  combine  to  fill  Nature's  censer 
that  April  winds  swing  to  and  fro.  And  if 
there  is  a  piney  grove  near  by,  from  which 
motherwort,  anemones,  and  trailing  arbutus 
can  breathe  their  spirit  into  the  floral  service, 
with  which  the  praise  of  the  season  opens, 
may  I  be  there  to  worship  also  ! 


310  CORN   AND    BEANS,    ETC. 

I  have  often  asked  myself,  could  anything 
in  Paradise  have  surpassed  some  of  our  spring 
days,  when  the  peach,  plum,  and  cherry,  and 
then  the  pear  and  apple  trees,  become  huge 
bouquets  ?  May  and  June  are  Nature's  fairy 
festival — not  the  luxurious  richness  of  mid- 
summer, nor  solid  abundance  of  autumn,  is 
then  served  up  ;  but  she  spreads  a  dainty,  del- 
icate repast  of  dews  and  perfumes,  of  honey 
such  as  flowers  distil,  and  all  the  glancing, 
airy  creatures  of  the  wing  are  invited.  From 
every  flowering  tree  comes  the  hum  of  small  talk 
as  innumerable  honey-bees  and  yellow-jackets 
sip  and  gossip  ;  while  ever  and  anon  some  great 
humble-bee  goes  blundering  and  booming 
around,  like  some  important  and  blustering 
master  of  ceremonies. 

But  the  birds  are  the  wassailers  par  excellence. 
They  eat  and  drink,  sing,  fight,  and  make  love 
with  an  abandon  that  is  quite  human. 


CORN   AND   BEANS,    ETC.  311 

You  need  not  tell  me  that  they  don't  get 
"high,"  and  that  their  extravagances  may  re- 
sult only  from  their  bird  nature.  I  know  very 
well  that  the  bobolink  who  lived  on  the  edge  of 
my  garden  last  summer  was  more  than  slightly 
inebriated  several  times  when  the  apples  were 
in  blossom.  In  language  more  forcible  than 
elegant,  I  maintain  from  what  he  said  and  did 
(the  test  we  apply  to  our  neighbors)  that  he  was 
"  tight,"  and  if  he  was  not,  then  I  don't  know 
the  world  and  have  never  seen  any  one  drink 
anything  stronger  than  cambric  tea.  If  he  had 
belonged  to  any  temperance  organization  he 
ought  to  have  been  disciplined.  The  truth  was, 
he  had  been  hanging  around  a  large  apple-tree 
in  full  bloom,  all  day,  and  when  evening  came, 
he  could  not  sing  straight,  fly  straight,  or  do 
anything  decorously,  but  was  the  most  jubilant, 
incoherent,  rollicking  little  blade  that  ever  went 
on  a  spree,  and  in  the  twilight  tumbled  into  a 


312  CORN   AND    BEANS,    ETC. 

clover-field  to  bed  in  a  manner  simply  scandal- 
ous. Mr.  Gough  should  turn  his  attention  to 
the  bobolinks. 

What  a  chemist  Nature  is !  How  in  the 
name  of  all  that  is  wonderful  can  she  manage  to 
give  every  kind  of  flower  and  vegetable  a 
different  perfume  ?  Some  of  the  most  homely 
and  useful  products  of  the  garden  give  out 
odors  that  are  as  grateful  as  those  of  choice 
flowers,  just  as  some  human  lives  that  are  busi- 
est and  fullest  of  care  have  still  the  aroma  of 
peace  and  rest  about  them. 

"  Well,  well,"  growls  some  impatient  reader, 
"  what  has  the  garden  to  do  with  the  sense  of 
touch  ? '.' 

If  you  had  blistered  your  hands  with  a  hoe 
handle,  I  think  you  would  know,  my  captious 
reader.  It  will  give  you  a  man's  hand  instead 
of  a  woman's.  (Now  I  have  disgusted  scores 
of  the  white-kid  gentry.)  I  know  modern 


CORN   AND    BEANS,    ETC.  313 

society  produces  multitudes  of  women  who  like 
to  be  taken  to  the  altar  by  men  whose  hands, 
incased  in  Jouvain's  latest  style,  are  almost  as 
diminutive  as  their  own.  They  may  soon  see 
the  day,  however,  when  they  will  wish  that  the 
man  who  offered  his  hand  had  offered  little  more 
in  that  line.  But  let  her  put  him  in  the  garden  a 
while,  and  the  lily  fingers  will  soon  grow  more 
capable  of  wielding  the  weapons  of  life's  battle. 
But  it  was  not  with  the  Spartan  idea  of  dis- 
cipline and  manly  development  that  I  first  re- 
ferred my  garden  as  ministering  to  the  sense  of 
touch.  It  can  do  this  as  delicately  and  pleas- 
urably  as  the  viewless  perfume.  Pick  off  the 
opening  leaves  from  a  lilac  bush,  and  their 
silken  softness  is  as  exquisite  as  their  perfume. 
Varied  foliage  is  as  different  to  the  sense  of 
touch  as  to  the  eye.  What  sensation  is  more 
delicious  than  that  of  pressing  your  lips  into 
the  cool  velvety  centre  of  a  double  rose  !  It  is 


314  CORN   AND    BEANS,    ETC. 

the  perfection  of  kissing,  and  without  the  slight- 
est danger  of  scandal. 

But  after  all  our  poetry  and  sentiment,  it  is 
when  we  come  to  the  sense  of  taste,  what  we 
put  in  our  mouths,  that  we  realize  what  the  gar- 
den does  for  us.  The  most  practical  souls  can 
appreciate  this  phase  of  the  subject.  All  want 
what  comes  from  the  garden,  and  so  the  gar- 
dener thrives.  He  need  never  starve  whose 
business  is  to  supply  a  universal  neecl,  nor  does 
a  man  work  with  less  unction  when,  in  helping 
to  supply  the  world  in  general,  he  is  also  sup- 
plying himself  in  particular.  Basing  my  belief 
on  the  sense  of  taste,  I  know  that  the  reader 
will  enter  into  my  feelings  as  I  set  about  the 
labors  of  later  spring,  the  time  when  we  pre- 
pare to  secure  some  of  the  chief  delicacies  of 
the  garden. 

We  will  suppose  that  all  the  fruits  of  the 
garden  and  orchard  are  properly  set  out  and 


CORN   AND    BEANS,    ETC.  315 

cared  for,  as  they  ought  to  be  by  this  time, 
and  will  turn  our  attention  to  those  annual 
vegetables  not  yet  specially  mentioned,  that 
mature  in  the  summer  and  fall. 

I  have  found  early  beets  a  profitable  crop  in 
my  locality,  and  in  '71  sold  three  hundred  and 
eight  bunches  for  thirty  dollars  and  twenty- 
two  cents.  Having  tried  several  varieties,  I 
prefer  the  "Extra  Early  Bassano  "  for  market 
purpose.  The  "  Egyptian  Blood  "  is  an  excel- 
lent variety,  did  its  name  not  make  one's  flesh 
creep,  and  cause  you  to  feel  something  like  a 
cannibal.  The  Bassano  variety  may  be  sown 
even  till  the  end  of  July,  and  will  make  good 
roots  by  October,  but  the  best  crops  are  se- 
cured from  early  sowings.  I  prefer  to  plant 
as  early  in  April  as  the  ground  is  dry  enough. 
By  putting  the  seed  at  this  time  in  a  warm 
light  soil,  and  covering  it  with  old  black  rotted 
manure,  a  very  early  crop  can  be  secured. 


316  CORN   AND    BEANS,    ETC. 

Any  one  following  this  course  will  be  in  advance 
of  his  neighbors,  and  will  obtain  excellent 
prices.  I  have  often  sown  radishes  with  my 
beets,  but  have  come  to  the  conclusion,  that  it 
does  not  pay,  since  the  former  retard  the  latter 
to  such  a  degree  that  no  gain  is  secured.  Fre- 
quent stirring  of  the  ground  around  the  young 
plants  greatly  stimulates  their  growth.  When 
they  are  about  four  inches  high,  thin  them  out, 
so  that  they  will  stand  three  or  four  inches  from 
each  other  in  the  row,  and  let  the  rows  be  one 
foot  -apart.  These  thinnings  make  excellent 
spinach,  and  many  will  buy  them  for  that  pur- 
pose. So  do  not  be  too  economical  of  seed,  as 
it  is  far  better  to  thin  .out,  than  plant  over. 
When  it  is  desired  to  raise  the  largest  and  latest 
crop,  the  soil  should  be  cooler  and  moister  in 
its  nature,  and  in  every  case  should  be  very  rich. 
Cabbages  and  cauliflowers  wintered  over  in 
cold  frames  should,  of  course,  be  set  out  in 


CORN   AND    BEANS,    ETC.  317 

the  open  ground  as  soon  as  it  can  be  nicely 
worked,  and  by  the  first  of  May  they  should 
be  growing  finely.  But  those  grown  under 
glass  from  seed  sown  in  the  spring,  should  not 
be  put  out  till  the  weather  is  quite  warm  and 
settled,  and  all  danger  of  severe  frost  is  over. 
Though  naturally  hardy  plants,  they  are  not  so 
when  forced  in  hot-beds  or  even  cold  frames. 
After  being  placed  in  the  open  ground,  nothing 
does  more  good  than .  frequent  stirrings  of  the 
soil  around  them.  Be  careful  also  never  to 
set  them,  if  it  can  be  helped,  where  any  of  the 
cabbage  family,  or  even  turnips  or  radishes, 
have  been  grown  the  year  before ;  for  if  you 
do,  you  will  very  likely  lose  your  crop  with  that 
pest  of  the  garden,  the  "  club-foot,"  which  ren- 
ders the  root  a  diseased  solid  mass.  This  evil 
is  so  great  in  my  grounds,  that  I  have  almost 
given  up  contending  with  it;  and  in  '71  my 
sales  of  cabbage  and  cauliflowers  unitedly  only 


318  CORN   AND    BEANS,    ETC. 

amounted  to  seven  dollars  and  eighty-nine 
cents.  But  where  one  has  plenty  of  good 
strong  land,  and  can  put  the  cabbage  on  new 
ground  every  year,  he  will  find  it  one  of  the 
most  profitable  of  crops.  The  tastes  of  fallen 
man  lean  toward  cabbage  almost  as  universally 
as  toward  the  onion,  and  there  is  a  large  de- 
mand for  it  in  every  market. 

Carrots,  though  more  truly  a  farm  crop,  de- 
serve a  place  in  the  garden.  The  Long  Orange 
is  the  best  variety.  I  give  a  little  space  to  it 
every  year,  and  find  that  it  pays  well.  During 
the  summer  there  is  a  demand  for  carrots 
bunched  like  beets  or  radishes,  and  to  meet  this 
it  is  perhaps  best  to  plant  the  Early  Horn 
variety.  The  seed  of  the  last-named  kind 
should  be  sown  as  soon  as  the  frost  is  out. 
But  even  for  early  use  I  would  rather  employ 
the  Long  Orange,  and  if  planted  as  soon  as 
possible  in  spring,  it  will  meet  the  summer  de- 


CORN    AND    BEANS,    ETC.  319 

mand  in  a  local  market,  and  what  remain  make 
large  fine  roots  for  winter.  A  good  deal  of 
latitude  in  time  is  allowed  in  sowing  this  seed, 
and  the  farmers  (who  are  enterprising  enough 
to  raise  them)  put  in  their  main  crop  in  June. 
Any  one  in  the  country  keeping  a  cow  or  even 
a  horse  ought  to  raise  a  large  quantity,  as  they 
would  in  this  way  cheaply  provide  one  of  the 
best  kinds  of  feed,  and  one  that  would  make 
all  other  kinds  of  fodder  more  beneficial. 
Even  if  there  were  but  a  limited  market  for  this 
vegetable  it  would  pay  to  raise  it,  for  a  com- 
paratively small  piece  of  ground  will  yield  so 
largely  as  to  reduce  the  expenses  of  keeping  a 
cow  and  horse  nearly  one  half. 

Celery  seed  should  be  sown  as  soon  in  April 
as  the  ground  becomes  light  and  warm.  Make 
the  rows  seven  or  eight  inches  apart,  and  cover 
the  seed  very  lightly.  The  only  further  care 
required  till  July  is  to  keep  the  ground  clear  of 


320  CORN   AND    BEANS,    ETC. 

weeds,  and  not  to  let  the  plants  grow  too 
thickly,  and  therefore  weak  and  spindling. 
Thin  out,  and  the  last  of  June  mow  off  the  tops 
of  the  young  plants  in  the  seed-bed.  This 
makes  them  strong  and  stocky,  and  much  more 
apt  to  live  when  set  out  in  the  trenches  or  open 
ground. 

About  the  last  of  April  or  first  of  May,  seed 
for  late  or  winter  cabbage  should  be  sown,  re- 
membering the  precautions  that  we  have  before 
urged.  About  the  last  of  June  the  young 
plants  will  be  large  enough  for  transferral  to  the 
place  where  they  are  to  head. 

A  little  lettuce  seed  of  the  Neapolitan,  Malta, 
or  large  Indian  varieties  may  be  sown  also  for 
the  summer  supply.  These  kinds  make  very 
large  heads,  and  are  best  adapted  for  hot 
weather.  Then  set  out  in  rich  soil ;  the  plants 
standing  fifteen  inches  apart.  After  the  first  of 


CORN   AND    BEANS,    ETC.  321 

June  there  is  no  call  for  lettuce  worth  mention- 
ing in  my  market. 

I  rarely  sow  spinach  in  the  spring,  expecting 
a  full  supply  from  that  started  in  the  fall.  In 
many  localities,  it  might  pay  well  to  raise  a 
summer  crop  of  this.  The  gardener  who  has 
strong,  heavy  land,  in  which  this  vegetable 
would  not  winter  over  well,  might  find  it  very 
profitable  to  sow  the  seed  in  the  spring.  He 
certainly  would,  if  he  could  find  a  good  market 
in  June,  and  then  he  would  have  his  ground 
clear  for  celery  or  some  late  crop. 

Early  turnips  have  never  payed  in  my  garden, 
though  I  have  tried  them  several  times.  Expe- 
rience in  other  localities  might  reverse  this. 
The  seed  should  be  sown  as  soon  as  the  frost  is 
out,  and  sown  thickly,  for  the  black  fly  will 
want  his  share.  Thin  out,  so  that  the  roots 
will  be  at  least  "six  inches  apart  in  the  row. 

Lime  dusted  over  the  young  plants  is  said  to 
21 


322  CORN   AND    BEANS,    ETC. 

keep  off  the  insects,  but  I  find  nothing  like  little 
chickens. 

For  the  last  two  or  three  years,  I  have  only 
raised  a  few  very  early  potatoes  for  home  use. 
They  are  a  farm  crop,  and  as  I  can  raise  a 
bushel  of  strawberries  almost  as  easily  as  the 
potatoes,  I  prefer  to  take  the  nine  dollars  that 
the  latter  will  bring,  and  buy  nine  bushels  of 
potatoes.  And  yet,  if  one  had  plenty  of  land 
adapted  to  the  growth  of  this  "corner-stone" 
vegetable,  and  kept  a  horse,  so  that  nearly  all 
the  work  could  be  done  with  a  plough,  it  would 
no  doubt  pay  well  to  raise  the  Early  Rose.  I 
have  known  them  to  sell  as  high  as  three  dollars 
a  bushel,  and  a  good  crop  at  one  dollar  and 
fifty  cents  would  be  very  satisfactory.  If  it  is 
possible  that  I  have  a  reader  who  does  not 
know  how  to  cultivate  the  potato,  let  him  ask 
the  first  Irishman  he  meets,  and  he  will  get  an 
answer  not  far  out  of  the  way.  At  the  same 


CORN   AND    BEANS,    ETC.  323 

time,  there  is  scarcely  a  vegetable,  with  which 
soil,  locality,  and  culture  make  a  greater  differ- 
ence; and  those  raised  on  a  sandy  loam  are 
often  as  much  better  than  those  from  wet  land, 
as  light  bread  than  dough. 

I  have  always  found,  that  a  small  space 
devoted  to  cucumbers  paid  well,  and  of  course 
the  home  market  must  be  supplied  with  this 
vegetable.  A  crisp  young  cucumber,  picked 
with  the  dew  on  it,  and  sliced  for  breakfast,  is 
as  different  from  the  wilted  article  often  found 
in  city  markets,  as  sweet  sixteen  from  sixty. 

As  I  have  said  before,  it  is  best  to  make  the 
hills  quite  early  in  the  season.  This  can  be 
done  by  opening  small  round  holes,  four  feet 
apart  each  way,  and  filling  them  with  mingled 
soil  and  old  rotted  manure,  heaping  all  up  into 
little  mounds  for  the  sun  to  warm  and  mellow. 
Then,  some  time  from  the  first  to  the  tenth  of 
May,  these  can  be  levelled  down  and  the  seed 


324  CORN    AND    BEANS,    ETC 

planted.  It  is  best  to  plant  from  fifteen  to 
twenty  seeds  in  each  hill,  so  that  the  bugs  may 
have  Jheir  share  and  still  leave  some  for  the 
grower.  They  are  not  at  all  considerate,  but 
take  all  they  can,  and  my  plan  is  to  have  more 
than  they  can  destroy  ;  just  as  your  cool  generals 
calculate  they  can  carry  a  point,  and  still  lose 
three-fourths  of  the  men  they  start  with.  At 
the  same  time,  like  the  generals,  you  must  kill 
all  the  opposing  bugs  you  can. 

Musk  and  water  melons  require  similar  treat- 
ment. If  the  ground  is  light  and  inclined  to 
drouth,  the  hills  should  be  made  level  with 
ground  around ;  but  if  heavy  and  damp,  a  rise 
of  six  inches  would  be  of  benefit. 

I  also  make  cold  frames  very  useful  in  growing 
cucumbers.  About  the  first  of  May,  the  lettuce 
and  radish  crops  in  them  are  all  sold,  and  the 
large  English  varieties  of  "  cues,"  as  the  truck- 
men call  them,  or  if  preferred,  the  good  old 


CORN    AND    BEANS,    ETC.  325 

standard  kind,  the  "  Improved  White  Spined," 
can  be  planted  and  covered  with  glass.  With 
this  artificial  heat  they  will  come  forward  very 
rapidly,  and  if  kept  well  aired  and  watered,  will 
give  a  fine  and  early  yield.  Some  hasten  the 
crop  very  much,  by  placing  a  small  box  covered 
with  four  panes  of  glass  over  the  hills  in  the 
open  garden.  Plants  so  protected  can  be  started 
by  the  middle  of  April. 

The  curious  reader  has  doubtless  failed  to  see, 
thus  far,  the  bearing  of  these  pages  on  the  sug- 
gestive Indian  word  "  Succotash,"  with  which  I 
commenced  this  chapter.  This  has  been  on  the 
good  old  principle,  that  we  try  to  save  the  best 
till  the  last.  It  is  probably  known,  that  this 
savory  dish  which  crowns  our  dinner  tables  in 
July  and  August,  is  a  relic  of  the  red-man  ;  and 
it  is  the  one  Indian  antiquity  that  I  am  specially 
interested  in.  The  vanished  tribes  will  never  be 
forgotten  while  corn  and  beans  grow,  and  this 


326  CORN   AND    BEANS,    ETC. 

happy  combination,  which  they  taught  to  the 
pale  face,  quite  comforts  us  for  their  absence. 
Succotash  may  not  be  quite  so  romantic  as  war- 
whoops  and  scalpings,  but  then  we  belong  to  a 
practical  age. 

But  before  we  revel  in  this  heathen  dainty, 
we  must,  like  the  mythical  Hiawatha,  wrestle 
with  Mondamin,  "conquer  and  overcome" 
him, 

"  Make  a  bed  for  him  to  lie  in 
Where  the  rain  may  fall  upon  him, 
Where  the  sun  may  come  and  warm  him." 

In  other  words,  we  must  first  plant  our  corn. 

Happily,  the  raising  of  this  delicious  vegetable 
is  no  great  mystery.  The  Indian  squaws  suc- 
ceeded well  with  it,  and  in  view  of  this  fact  no 
manly  and  civilized  gardener  would  like  to  ad- 
mit of  failure.  A  rich  light  soil  and  good  cult- 
ure rarely  fail  in  giving  a  good  crop  year  after 
year.  There  is  almost  a  universal  demand  for 


CORN    AND    BEANS,    ETC.  327 


it  in  every  market,  and  by  planting  the  different 
kinds,  and  by  successive  plantings  from  the  first 
of  May  till  the  last  of  June,  a  good  supply  can 
be  maintained  a  long  time.  A  little  well-rotted 
manure  in  the  hill  with  the  seed  greatly  hastens 
and  strengthens  its  growth.  I  have  found  the 
"  Early  Crosby,  Early  Eight  Rowed,  and  Stow- 
ell's  Late  Evergreen,"  the  best  varieties. 

Where  the  corn  is  grown  some  distance  from 
the  house,  the  crows  are  often  troublesome. 
They  are  said  to  be  a  very  sagacious  bird,  and 
having  once  found  a  row,  will  go  up  and  down 
it,  seemingly  knowing  just  where  to  look  for  the 
hills.  My  father  once  had  an  old  colored  gar- 
dener, who  made  the  rows  so  crooked  that  the 
crows  could  not  find  them,  for  having  never 
been  to  Congress  they  expected  things  to  be  on 
the  square. 

I  also  recall  a  story  that  I  have  heard  which 
suggests  another  remedy.  I  can  vouch  for  the 


328  CORN   AND    BEANS,    ETC. 

fact  that  this  story  has  really  been  told,  and  by 
an  ancient  man,  not  woman,  and  this  is  more 
than  can  be  said  of  many  stories.  If  the  result 
was  more  favorable  to  crow  nature  than  to  hu- 
man nature,  that  is  a  fault  of  the  facts. 

Once  upon  a  time  a  man  planted  corn,  and 
the  crows  dug  it  up.  The  aforesaid  man  had 
great  faith  in  whiskey  ;  but  the  aforesaid  crows 
knew  nothing  about  whiskey.  The  man 
thought  that  if  he  soaked  some  corn  in  the  "  fu- 
sel," and  put  it  in  the  field,  the  crows  might  be- 
come so  thoroughly  corned  that  he  could  catch, 
preserve,  and  hang  them  up  as  warnings,  so  that 
their  companions  might  shun  the  place  where 
there  was  danger  of  getting  into  a  like  pickle. 
The  experiment  turned  out  differently,  but 
even  better  than  he  expected.  For  a  crow  soon 
appeared  and  gorged  himself  with  the  spirit- 
soaked  corn.  The  consequences  were  quite  hu- 
man. From  his  crop  it  went  to  his  head,  which 


CORN   AND    BEANS,    ETC.  329 

soon  felt  "  queer,"  then  dizzy.  He  tried  to  step 
off  in  his  wonted  stately  manner,  but  tumbled 
into  a  furrow.  He  staggered  up  a  corn-hill,  and 
stood  there,  in  bewildered,  helpless  imbecility, 
blinking  at  the  trees  and  fences  that  seemed 
dancing  a  hornpipe  in  the  spring  sunshine. 

Just  at  this  inopportune  moment  a  dozen  or 
more  crows  came  sailing  toward  the  field,  bent 
on  a  good  square  meal  from  their  accustomed 
"pickings  and  stealings,"  as  a  politician  would 
express  himself,  when  something  in  the  peculiar 
appearance  of  their  "discouraged"  companion 
arrested  their  attention,  and  they  gathered  round 
him  with  no  slight  caws  for  wonder.  The  san- 
guine man  that  had  soaked  the  corn,  that  had 
"  corned  "  the  crow,  expected  to  see  all  the  rest 
follow  suit,  like  so  many  of  his  neighbors.  He 
hardly  expected  to  find  a  higher  standard  of  vir- 
tue in  his  corn-field  than  in  that  social  centre, 
the  village  tavern.  But  for  once,  at  least,  it  was 


330  CORN    AND    BEANS,    ETC. 

proved  that  there  is  honor  among  thieves,  for 
the  robbers  stood  around  their  staggering  fellow, 
grave  and  remonstrative,  and  seemingly  much 
scandalized.  Then  from  being  stupidly  drunk, 
the  crow  became  pugnaciously  drunk,  and 
wanted  to  fight  them  all  around  for  nothing,  d 
la  "  Sixth  Ward."  From  this  he  passed  on  to 
the  maudlin  and  sentimental  stage,  and  offered 
some  uncouth  gallantries  to  the  oldest  and  most 
sedate  crow  of  the  party. 

This  was  past  endurance.  There  was  a  brief 
clamorous  council,  and  with  an  expression  of 
unmingled  disgust  resting  on  their  usually 
solemn  and  sanctimonious  faces,  they  took  wing 
and  were  seen  no  more. 

"  Consider  the  ravens,"  O  ye  children  of 
men  !  It  only  remains  to  be  said  that  the  in- 
ebriated crow  thus  socially  "cut'  and  ostra- 
cized, not  having  a  gutter  to  lie  in,  like  lordly 
man,  did  the  next  best  thing  possible,  and  turn- 


CORN   AND    BEANS,    ETC.  33! 

bled  head  first  into  a  furrow ;  from  whence  the 
man,  the  Mephistopheles  of  the  plot,  took  him, 
and  hung  him  up  in  black,  as  warning  to  other 
crows — would  that  I  could  add,  to  other  men. 

Happy  termination.  The  corn  grew  and 
prospered,  and  became  the  first  ingredient  of  the 
delicious  Indian  compound. 

There  is  no  occasion  to  enlarge  greatly  on 
beans.  People  of  average  intelligence  are  ex- 
pected to  know  this  vegetable. 

The  two  varieties  that  I  have  found  most 
profitable  are  the  "  Dwarf  German  Wax,"  as  a 
bush  bean,  and  the  "Large  Lima,"  for  poles. 
Of  the  former  twenty-three  and  one-fourth  bush- 
els were  sold  for  fifty-one  dollars  ;  of  the  latter, 
nineteen  and  one-eighth  bushels,  for  thirty-six 
dollars  and  seventy-seven  cents. 

The  Dwarf  German  Wax  can  be  planted  very 
early,  and  they  seem  quite  hardy.  I  have  suc- 
ceeded well  with  those  put  in  light  warm  ground, 


332  CORN   AND    BEANS,    ETC. 

quite  early  in  April.  This  variety  needs  rich 
soil,  and  rotted  manure  drilled  in  with  the  seed 
is  of  great  advantage.  The  limas  should  not 
be  planted  till  about  the  tenth  of  May  in  our 
latitude,  as  they  cannot  endure  cold  or  wet 
weather.  Unless  the  ground  of  the  garden  is 
rich  and  light,  it  is  well  to  prepare  the  hills 
around  poles,  as  described  for  cucumbers. 

Many  lose  their  first  plantings  by  covering 
too  deeply.  Limas  should  be  pushed  under  the 
soil  about  an  inch  only,  eye  or  germ  down- 
wards. Seemingly  they  do  not  like  being  bur- 
ied, and  soon  reappear  again,  thus  tending  to 
substantiate  the  ghost  theory  still  so  prevalent. 
Not  unfrequently  the  surprised  amateur  has 
poked  them  back  again  and  then  they  stayed, 
but  the  poles  remained  bare.  If  you  want  to 
obtain  anything  from  Nature,  treat  her  as 
"  lovely  woman,"  and  let  her  have  her  ov/n  way 
as  far  as  possible,  however  odd  her  methods. 


CORN   AND    BEANS,    ETC.  333 

Arbitrary  measures  won't  answer,  as  some  of 
my  readers  outside  of  the  garden  may  have  dis- 
covered. 

I  now  consider  that  I  have  done  all  in  my 
power  to  secure  succotash,  and  therefore  happi- 
ness, to  my  readers.  May  not  come  grateful 
sighs  of  memory  mingled  with  the  mouthsful 
next  July  ?  If  what  is  esteemed  the  profound- 
est  human  philosophy  be  true,  I  have  gained 
some  hold  on  the  popular  heart. 


We  close  with  a  few  marriages,  as  all  ortho- 
dox stories  should. 

It  now  but  remains  to  link  the  labors  of  la,te 
spring  and  of  summer  with  those  before  de- 
scribed, as  appropriately  commencing  with 
autumn,  and  then  to  bow  myself  out. 

The  tomato  has  probably  been  the  most 
profitable  vegetable  that  I  have  raised.  It  will 


334  CORN   AND    BEANS,    ETC. 

grow  on  any  soil,  and  after  being  once  started, 
requires  but  little  attention.  The  main  point  is 
to  have  good,  strong,  stocky  plants  by  the  loth 
of  May,  to  set  out  in  the  open  ground.  Every- 
one can  grow  tomatoes,  and  nearly  every  one 
does,  who  has  a  few  feet  of  land  ;  and  since  they 
will  flo'urish  where  a  weed  will  live,  success 
crowns  the  most  careless  culture.  But  in  having 
tomatoes  very  early,  any  amount  of  skill  and 
effort  can  be  expended.  In  the  height  of  the 
season,  there  are  times  when  they  will  not  sell 
at  any  price,  while  I  have  sold  those  first  ripen- 
ing at  twelve  cents  a  quart.  Therefore  every 
year  we  have  half  a  dozen  or  more  "  novelties  " 
introduced,  each  said  to  be  earlier  than  any- 
thing ever  grown  before.  But  gardeners  are 
annually  losing  their  childlike  faith  in  regard  to 
these.  Still  try  -a  few.  It  is  an  innocent  form 
of  gambling  and  will  add  interest  to  the  garden. 
But  we  would  advise  that  the  main  supply  be 


CORN   AND    BEANS,    ETC.  335 

of  the  "  Solid  Smooth  Red,"  "Trophy,"  and 
"  General  Grant."  I  am  going  to  try  the 
"  General  "  four  years  longer.  But  in  order  to 
be  first  in  the  market,  sow  the  seed  of  some  very 
early  variety  in  a  hot-bed  as  soon  in  March  as 
you  can,  and  about  the  middle  of  April  transfer 
the  plants  to  a  deep  cold  frame,  where  the 
glass  will  be  at  least  two  feet  from  the  bottom 
of  the  pit.  Set  them  out  six  or  eight  inches 
apart,  so  that  the  plants  will  grow  bushy  and 
strong.  Give  plenty  of  air  in  the  heat  of  the 
day,  and  in  warm  rains  take  off  the  glass 
altogether.  Thus  the  plants  will  be  very  vigor- 
ous and  hardy  by  May  loth.  Set  them  out  in 
a  warm  and  rather  dry  spot  in  the  open  garden, 
and  do  not  let  the  soil  be  too  rich,  as  this  tends 
to  growth  of  vines  rather  than  fruit,  and  you 
will  beat  your  neighbors,  which  is  a  very  proper 
thing  for  a  gardener  to  do.  My  sales  in  '71 
were  eighty-two  and  one-fourth  bushels,  realiz- 


336  CORN   AND    BEANS,    ETC. 

ing  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  dollars  and 
sixty  cents.  In  '72  the  results  were  not  very 
different.  A  great  many  pretty  experiments 
can  be  tried  in  pruning  and  training  the  tomato, 
which  the  amateur's  genius  or  leisure  will  sug- 
gest. The  majority  of  us  are  satisfied  to  set 
out  the  plants  and  hoe  them. 

We  next  come  to  the  treatment  of  the  straw- 
berry-beds previous  to  their  fruiting,  and  can 
assure  the  reader  that  the  crop  can  be  greatly 
enhanced  by  proper  culture,  during  April  and 
especially  May.  In  the  first  place,  if  it  was  not 
done  in  fall,  a  good  top-dressing  of  manure  in 
the  early  spring  stimulates  the  plants  very  much. 
If  the  manure  is  fine,  it  can  be  scattered  im- 
mediately over  the  plants,  as  well  as  around 
them.  If  they  were  covered  with  coarse 
manure  m  the  fall,  then  this  can  be  forked  in 
between  the  rows  in  April.  Good  cultivation, 
frequent  stirrings  of  the  soil  until  they  begin  to 


CORN   AND    BEANS,    ETC.  337 

blossom,  adds  to  their  vigor  greatly ;  but  as 
soon  as  the  fruit  commences  to  form,  the  roots 
should  be  in  no  way  disturbed,  but  another  and 
entirely  different  course  adopted",  which,  prob- 
ably carried  out,  often  works  wonders.  I  refer 
to  judicious  mulching. 

Say  that  the  soil  between  the  rows  is  light, 
and  free  of  weeds,  as  it  ought  to  be.  Then 
after  the  first  rain,  when  the  ground  has  been 
well  moistened,  cover  the  intervening  spaces 
between  the  plants'  thickly  and  closely  with 
leaves,  or  better  still,  fresh  grass  just  cut  from 
the  lawn.  Only  unparalleled  drouth  will 
greatly  injure  the  bed  so  treated.  The  berries 
will  be  much  larger  and  finer,  and  the  plants 
continue  longer  in  bearing.  Moreover,  the  fruit 
will  be  perfectly  clean,  and  will  need  no  washing 
for  the  table  ;  a  process  that  robs  it  of  flavor 
and  beauty.  For  these  reasons,  it  is  far  better 
to  keep  the  plants  in  straight  rows,  as  the 


338  CORN   AND    BEANS,    ETC. 

ground  can  then  be  readily  covered  with  grass, 
leaves,  or  straw,  at  the  time  of  blossoming. 
Where  the  beds  have  been  permitted  to  run  to- 
gether, or  where  they  are  cultivated  in  wide, 
matted  rows,  it  is  next  to  impossible  to  mulch 
them  well,  and  they  are  very  apt  to  suffer  from 
drouth.  This  was  the  case  with  my  beds  in  '71. 
I  could  not  bring  myself  to  cut  out  the  strong, 
thrifty  plants,  so  as  to  leave  good  spaces  be- 
tween the  rows.  The  ground  was  rich,  so  I 
concluded  to  let  all  fruit.  If  May  had  been  cool 
and  moist  (the  weather  that  the  strawberry  de- 
lights in),  my  crop  would  have  been  enormous. 
But,  from  the  middle  of  May  till  some  time  in 
June,  we  had  a  very  unusual  drouth.  I  tried 
watering,  as  before  intimated,  and  perhaps 
helped  some  of  my  beds  very  much,  but  others, 
I  think,  were  injured.  It  is  well  known  to  gar- 
deners that  if  you  once  commence  watering  in  a 
dry  time,  you  must  continue,  or  the  plants  will 


CORN    AND    BEANS,    ETC.  339 

suffer  far  more  than  if  left  to  fight  it  out  them- 
selves. If  you  can  thoroughly  soak  your  beds 
and  keep  them  moist,  watering  always  in  the 
evening,  they  will  do  splendidly.  But  if  you 
water  in  the  morning,  or  while  the  sun  shines, 
the  plants  will  be  scafded  and  the  fruit  injured  ; 
and  if  the  ground  is  left  to  dry  out  thoroughly 
after  an  artificial  watering,  still  greater  harm 
will  be  done.  My  difficulties  and  losses  in  try- 
ing to  water  a  large  area  are  thus  plainly  indi- 
cated, even  though  I  had  the  water  drawn  in  a 
barrel  by  a  horse.  Still,  as  I  have  stated,  I 
raised  fifty-seven  bushels  of  fruit  on  five-eighths 
of  an  acre,  but  am  satisfied  that  the  same  num- 
ber of  plants,  kept  in  rows  and  mulched,  would 
have  yielded  over  seventy  bushels,  and  at  less 
cost  and  culture. 

On  the  3  ist  of  May  three  quarts  were  picked. 
What  though  they  were  sour,  as  the  first  ripen- 
ing always  are  ?  They  were  big  and  red,  with 


34°  CORN   AND    BEANS,    ETC. 

something  of  the  ambrosial  strawberry  flavor, 
and  had  the  exquisite  aroma  that  almost  rivals 
the  rose. 

As  has  been  hinted,  it  is  the  time-honored 
custom  of  story-tellers  to  marry  off  some  of  their 
principal  characters  in  their  closing  chapter.  I 
have  already  united  my  corn  and  beans  in  the 
delightful  combination  of  succotash.  Single 
beans  and  single  corn  are  very  well,  but  they 
are  much  better  together.  Good  marriages 
always  improve  character. 

It  still  remains  for  me  to  provide  for  my 
blushing  strawberries  and  delicate  raspberries, 
and  for  them  "  nobody  and  nothing  "  is  good 
enough,  but  cream  from  our  Alderney  cow. 
The  happy  fruit  is  picked  for  breakfast  with  the 
dew  upon  it  for  wedding  diamonds. 

And  when  the  cream  appears, 
Is  soon  "o'er  head  and  ears." 

Who   would   not   be   a   gardener,    when    he 


CORN  AND  BEANS,  ETC.  34! 

could  solemnize  such  unions  three  times  a  day  ? 
Do  not  imagine  that  you  can  do  this  as  well  in 
the  city  as  the  country.  There  may  be  more 
parade  of  silver  and  gold  in  the  service,  but 
city  berries  are  too  often  like  city  belles  ;  city 
cream  like  Wall  Street  men.  They  have  seen 
too  much  of  the  world. 

To  change  a  subject  that  may  not  be  agree- 
able to  all,  we  turn  to  one  somewhat  in  con- 
trast, and  remark  that  winter  cabbage  should 
be  set  out  before  the  Fourth  of  July,  in  our 
latitude,  and  it  would  be  better  that  the  large 
late  varieties  were  growing  in  the  open  ground 
the  last  of  June. 

I  might  refer  to  other  vegetables,  from  which 
some  slight  revenue  was  obtained,  or  might  be  ; 
but  as  this  is  mainly  a  record  of  experience,  they 
scarcely  have  place  in  these  pages.  If  this  trea- 
tise is  in  any  sense  exhaustive,  it  deserves  such 
character  solely  from  its  effect  on  the  reader. 


342  CORN   AND    BEANS,    ETC. 

We  will,  therefore,  close  with  celery,  the 
latest,  and  perhaps  the  most  delicious  vegetable 
of  the  garden. 

Before  the  loth  of  August,  it  should  all  be 
in  the  trenches,  where  it  is  to  grow  and  blanch. 
Some  prefer  to  set  out  the  plants  on  level 
ground,  in  rows  four  or  five  feet  apart,  and 
doubtless  this  is  the  most  economical  way  of 
raising  it  by  the  quantity,  especially  where  the 
dwarf  varieties  are  used.  I  have  practised 
both  methods  with  success.  A  very  rich  soil 
is  indispensable  for  this  crop.  In  fall  it  is  my 
plan  to  draw  the  earth  up  around  the  plants 
about  once  a  week,  so  that  the  blanching 
process  will  go  forward  with  the  growth. 

I  much  prefer  storing  my  celery  in  the  open 
garden  during  the  winter.  It  is  very  easily 
and  simply  done.  Selecting  some  gravelly 
slope  where  there  is  thorough  drainage,  I  have 
a  trench  cut,  a  foot  wide  and  about  the  depth 


CORN   AND    BEANS,    ETC.  343 

of  the  celery's  length,  so  that  when  packed 
close  in  the  trench,  in  the  natural  position  in 
which  it  grew,  its  top  leaves  will  be  a  little 
above  the  surface  of  the  ground.  As  the 
weather  grows  colder,  late  in  November,  the 
earth  can  be  drawn  up  till  the  leaves  are  nearly 
all  covered.  This  should  not  be  done  till 
freezing  weather  has  really  come,  for  too  early 
and  close  earthing  up  might  cause  decay.  Just 
before  winter  sets  in,  cover  heavily  with  leaves 
or  straw.  Thus  all  frost  will  be  kept  out,  and 
you  will  be  able  to  get  at  the  plants  any  time. 
Under  this  treatment  they  will  usually  keep  in 
excellent  order  till  spring. 

I  prefer  to  get  my  celery  plants  nicely  grow- 
ing during  July.  Places  from  which  early 
crops  were  taken  furnish  the  needed  space,  and 
this  is  put  in  readiness  by  the  most  thorough 
enriching  of  the  soil.  As  my  ground  is  lim- 
ited, and  as  I  raise  the  large  varieties,  I  usually 


344  CORN   AND    BEANS,    ETC. 

prepare  trenches  about  eight  inches  deep  and 
eighteen  wide  for  the  plants.  Then  we  are  on 
the  watch  for  showers,  so  as  to  get  as  many  out 
as  possible  before  the  rain. 

Sometimes  we  have  three  or  four  showers  a 
day,  and  the  cloud  scenery  resulting  is  often 
marvellously  beautiful;  but  usually  they  make 
their  appearance  some  hot  afternoon  about 
three  or  four  o'clock. 

A  person  living  in  the  city  can  have  little 
idea  of  thunder-storms  as  they  occur  in  this 
mountain  region.  The  hills  about  us,  while 
they  attract  the  electrified  clouds,  are  also  our 
protection,  for,  abounding  in  iron  ore,  they  be- 
come huge  lightning-rods  above  the  houses 
and  hamlets  at  their  bases.  But  little  recks  old 
Bear  Mountain,  or  Cro'  Nest,  Jove's  most  fiery 
bolts.  The  rocky  splinters  fly  for  a  moment ; 
some  oak  or  chestnut  comes  quivering  down  ; 
but  soon  the  mosses,  like  kindly  charity,  have 


CORN   AND    BEANS,    ETC.  345 

covered  up  the  wounded  rock,  and  three  or 
four  saplings  have  grown  from  the  roots  of  the 
blighted  tree. 

But  the  storm  we  witness  from  our  safe  and 
sheltered  homes  is  often  grand  beyond  descrip- 
tion. At  first,  in  the  distant  west,  a  cloud  rises 
so  dark  that  you  can  scarcely  distinguish  it  from 
a  blue  highland.  But  a  low  muttering  of  thun- 
der vibrates  through  the  sultry  air,  and  we  know 
what  is  coming.  Soon  the  afternoon  sun  is  shad- 
ed, and  a  deep,  unnatural  twilight  settles  upon 
the  landscape,  like  the  shadow  of  a  great  sorrow 
on  a  face  that  was  smiling  a  moment  before. 
The  thunder  grows  heavier,  like  the  rumble  and 
roar  of  an  approaching  battle.  The  western 
arch  of  the  sky  is  black  as  night.  The  eastern 
arch  is  bright  and  sunny,  and  as  you  glance  from 
side  to  side,  you  cannot  but  think  of  those  who, 
comparatively  innocent  and  happy  at  first,  cloud 
their  lives  in  maturer  years  with  evil  and  crime, 


346  CORN   AND   BEANS,    ETC. 

and  darken  the  future  with  the  wrath  of  heaven. 
At  last  the  vanguard  of  black  flying  clouds,  dis- 
jointed, jagged,  the  rough  skirmish  line  of  the 
advancing  storm,  is  over  our  heads.  Back  of 
these,  in  one  dark,  solid  mass,  comes  the  tem- 
pest. For  a  moment  there  is  a  sort  of  hush  of 
expectation,  like  the  lull  before  a  battle.  The 
trees  on  the  distant  brow  of  a  mountain  are  seen 
to  toss  and  writhe,  but  as  yet  no  sound  is  heard. 
Soon  there  is  a  faint,  far-away  rushing  noise, 
the  low,  deep  prelude  of  Nature's  grand  musical 
discord  that  is  to  follow.  There  is  a  vivid 
flash,  and  a  startling  peal  of  thunder  breaks  forth 
overhead,  and  rolls  away  with  countless  rever- 
berations among  the  hills.  In  the  meantime  the 
distant  rushing  sound  has  developed  into  an  in- 
creasing roar.  Half  way  down  the  mountain 
side  the  trees  are  swaying  wildly.  At  the  base 
stands  a  grove,  motionless,  expectant,  like  a 
square  of  infantry  awaiting  an  impetuous  cavalry 


CORN   AND    BEANS,    ETC.  347 

charge.  In  a  moment  it  comes.  At  first  the 
shock  seems  terrible.  Every  branch  bends  low. 
Dead  limbs  rattle  down  like  hail.  Leaves  torn 
away  fly  wildly  through  the  air.  But  the  sturdy 
trunks  stand  their  ground,  and  the  baffled  tem- 
pest passes  on.  Mingling  with  the  rush  of  the 
wind  and  reverberations  of  thunder,  a  new 
sound,  a  new  part  now  enters  into  the  grand 
harmony.  At  first  it  is  a  low,  continuous  roar, 
caused  by  the  falling  rain  upon  the  leaves.  It 
grows  louder  fast,  like  the  pattering  feet  of  a 
coming  multitude.  Then  the  great  drops  fall 
around,  yards  apart,  like  scattering  shots. 
They  grow  closer,  and  soon  a  streaming  torrent 
drives  you  to  shelter.  The  next  heavy  peal  is 
to  the  eastward,  showing  that  the  bulk  of  the 
shower  is  past.  The  roar  of  the  thunder  dies 
away  down  the  river.  The  thickly  falling  rain 
contracts  your  vision  to  a  narrow  circle,  out  of 
which  Cozzens's  great  hotel  and  Bear  Mountain 


348  CORN   AND    BEANS,    ETC. 

loom  vaguely.  The  flowers  and  shrubbery 
bend  to  the  moisture  with  the  air  of  one  who 
stands  and  takes  it.  The  steady,  continuous 
plash  upon  the  roof  slackens  into  a  quiet  patter- 
ing of  rain-drops.  The  west  is  lightening  up  ; 
by  and  by  a  long  line  of  blue  is  seen  above  Cro' 
Nest.  The  setting  sun  shines  out  upon  a  puri- 
fied and  more  beautiful  landscape.  Every  leaf, 
every  spire  of  grass  is  brilliant  with  gems  of 
moisture.  The  cloud  scenery  has  all  changed. 
The  sun  is  setting  in  unclouded  splendor.  Not 
the  west  but  the  east  is  now  black  with  storm  ; 
but  the  rainbow,  emblem  of  hope  and  God's 
mercy,  spans  its  blackness,  and  in  the  skies  we 
again  have  suggested  to  us  a  life,  once  clouded 
and  darkly  threatened  by  evil,  but  now,  through 
penitence  and  reform,  ending  in  peace  and 
beauty,  God  spanning  the  wrong  of  the  past 
with  His  rich  and  varied  promises  of  forgive- 
ness. At  last  the  skies  are  clear  again.  Along 


CORN   AND    BEANS,    ETC.  349 

the  eastern  horizon  the  retreating  storm  sends 
up  occasional  flashes,  that  seem  like  regretful 
thoughts  of  the  past.  Then  night  comes  on, 
cool,  moonlit,  breathless.  Not  a  leaf  stirs 
where  an  hour  before  the  sturdiest  limbs  bent  to 
the  earth.  This  must  be  Nature's  commentary 
on  the  "peace  that  passeth  all  understanding." 


Any  Book  on  this  List  sent  by  mail,  postpaid,  on  receipt  of  price. 
Remit  by  Check,  Registered  Letter,  or  Postal  Money  Order. 
We  are  not  responsible  for  remittances  made  in  bills  or  currency. 

CATALOGUE  OF 
Standard  &  Miscellaneous  Books 

PUBLISHED  BY 

DODD   &   MEAD, 

762  Broadway,  N.  Y. 

New  Books  and  New  Editions  marked  thus  f. 


ABBOTT,  JOHN  S.  C. 

Early  American  Pioneers  and  Patriots.  A  series  illus- 
trating the  Early  History  and  Settlement  of  America.  Each  in 
one  volume,  121110,  fully  illustrated  and  handsomely  bound  in 

black  and  gold ;   per  vol $I-5° 

ist  Daniel  Boone  and  the  Early  Settlement  of  Kentucky .     \ 

zd  Miles  Standish,  the  Puritan  Captain f 

•$d  De  Solo,  the  Discoverer  of  the  Mississippi 

Other  volumes  to  follow.     (In  April. ) 

ABBOTT,  LYMAN. 

Laicus  ;  or,  The  Experiences  of  a  Layman  in  a  Country    \ 
Parish.     By  Lyman  Abbott.     I2mo 1. 75 

EUNYAN. 

Grace  Abounding  to  the  Chief  of  Sinners.     Being  an 

Account  of  his  own  Life.     By  John  Bunyan.     i8mo,  red  edges,    i.oo 

CLARK. 

The    Valley  Kingdoms — Egypt -and  Assyria.     By  Rev.    f 
E.  L.  Clark,  author  of  "  Daleth."     With  many  beautiful  illus- 
trations.    (In  preparation. ) 

CRUDEN. 

Cruderis  Complete  Concordance  A  Dictionary  and  Alpha- 
betical Index  to  the  Bible.  (The  Unabridged  Edition).  By 
Alexander  Cruden,  A.M. 

Price  in  cloth,  reduced  from $4.00  to   2.75 

"     "sheep,       "         "     5.00   to   3.50 

"  half  morocco,     "     6.50   to   4.50 

GUMMING. 

Is  C hristianity  from  God?  A  Manual  of  Bible  Evidence 
for  the  People.  By  Rev.  John  Gumming,  author  of  the  "  Great 
Tribulation."  iSrno,  brown  cloth  extra 90 


DODD    &    MEAD  S    CATALOGUE. 

CHARLES,  MRS. 

Schonberg-Cotta  Family     121110 1.50 

"  "  Hampstead  edition i.oo 

The  Early  Dawn.     1 2mo 1.50 

"  "  Hampstead  edition i.oo 

Diary  of  Kitty  Trevylyan i.  50 

"  "  "  Hampstead  edition i.oo 

Winifred  Bertram 1.50 

"  "         Hampstead  edition i.oo 

The  Dray  tons  and  the  Davenants 1.50 

"  "  Hampstead  edition i.oo 

On  Both  Sides  of  the  Sea.     12010 1.50 

"  "  "         Hampstead  edition i.oo 

The  Victory  of  the  Vanquished.     1 2 mo i.  50 

"  "  "  Hampstead  edition i.oo 

Sets  of  the  above  in  boxes. 

The  1 2  mo  edition,  seven  vols.,  including  Victory,  reduced 

to. $10.50 

The  New  Uniform  Edition. 

The  Hampstead  Edition,  i6mo,  illustrated,  and  bound  in 

black  and  gold.     Seven  vols 7.  oo 

Mary,  the  Handmaid  of  the  Lord.     New  edition,   i8mo, 

red  edges i.oo 

Poems.     New  edition,  1 8mo,  red  edges 1.25 

Watchwords  for  the  Warfare  of  Life.     Selected  from  the 

Writings  of  Luther,     izmo,  bevelled  boards 1. 75 

Song  Without  Words.     Cheaper  edition 75 

DANA. 

Corals  and  Coral  Islands.     By  James  D.  Dana,  Professor     f 
of  Geology  in  Yale  College,  author  of  a  System  of  Mineralogy, 
&c.     One  vol.,  large  8vo,  with  colored  frontispiece  and  three 
maps,  and  nearly  100  illustrations,  cloth  extra 6.00 

DOLLINGER. 

Dr.  J.  J.  7.  Von  Dollinger's  Fables  Respecting  the  Popes  \ 
in  the  Middle  Ages.  Translated  by  Alfred  Plummet,  together 
•with  Dr.  Dollinger's  Essay  on  the  Prophetic  Spirit  and  the 
Prophecies  of  the  Christian  Era.  Translated  for  the  American 
Edition,  with  Introduction  and  Notes  to  the  whole  work  by 
Prof.  H.  B.  Smith,  D.D.  One  vol.,  large  izmo 2.25 

Lectures  on  the  Reunion  of  the  Churches.     By  J.  J.  I.  Von     f 
Dollinger,   D.D.,   D.C.L.      Translated  by  Henry   Nutcombe 
Oxenham,  M.  A.  '  I2mo i.  50 


DODD    &    MEAD  S    CATALOGUE. 

FISH. 

History  and  Repository  of  Pulpit  Eloquence,  (Deceased 
Divines.)  By  Henry  C.  Fish,  D.  D.  A  new  edition.  Two 
volumes  in  one.  8vo,  over  1,2,00  pages,  with  portraits.  Cloth, 
extra  b:velled  boards $S-5O 

Pulpit  Eloquence  of  the  XlXth  Century.    With  Seven  large 

steel  portraits.     8vo    cloth  extra,  bevelled  boards 4,00 

FENELON. 

Spiritual  Progress  or  instructions  in  the  Divine  Life  of 
the  Soul,  including  Fenelon's  Christian  Counsel  and  Spiritual 
Letters,  and  Mme.  Guyon's  Short  and  Easy  Method  of  Prayer, 
I2mo,  red  edges,  bevelled  boards 1.50 

Christian  Counsel  and  Spiritual  Letters.     In  a  Separate 

volume.     i8mo,  red  edges I.OO 

DAILY  PRAYER  BOOK. 


Daily  Prayer  Book,   The.     For  the  use  of  Families,  with      f 
additional  Prayers  for  special  occasions.     Edited  by  John  Stoughton, 
D.  D.       I2mo,  bevelled  boards,  red  edges 1.50 

GRAY. 

Bible  Lore.      Chapters  on   the  Rare  Manuscripts,  Various      f 
Translations,    and     Notable     Characteristics    of    the     Bible.       By 
James  Comper  Gray.     One  vol.,   izmo *-5o 

GARRETT. 

Premiums  Paid  to  Experience.     Incidents  in  my  Business      f 
Life,    by  Edward    Garrett,   author    of   "  Occupations  of  a  Retired 
Life,"  &c.      12  illustrations,   I2mo 1.75 

The  Dead  Sin,   and  other  Stories.      By  Edward   Garrett.      f 
12  illustrations,  I2mo 1.75 

The  Occupations  of  a  Retired  Lije.      12  illustrations,  I2mo.    1.75 
The  Crust  and  the  Cake.     12  illustrations,   I2mo 1.75 

HARE. 

Wanderings  in  Spain.     By  Augustus  J.  C.  Hare,  author      f 
of  ••  Walks  in  Rome."      Finely  illustrated    3.00 

HALL. 

Papers  for  Home  Reading.      By  Rev.  John  Hall,  D.  D., 

of  New  York.     Ons  elegant  I2mo,  with  Portrait 1.75 

Questions  of  the  Day.       By  Rev.  Joha  Hall,  D.D.       One 

elegant  i amo 1.75 


DODD  &  MEAD'S  CATALOGUE. 
HOWSON. 

The  Character   of  St.    Paul.      By  J.    C.    Howson,    D.  D.,      f 
one  of  the  authors  of  Connybeare  &  Howson's  St.  Paul.     nmo. 

ess.' 

HOOD. 

Lamps,  Pitcherc,  and  Trumpets.     Lectures  on  the  Voca-      * 
tion   of  tne   Preacher.       Illustrated  by   Anecdotes,    Biographical, 
Historical,   and   Elucidatory,  of  every  order  of  Pulpit  Eloquence 
from    the  great   Preachers    of  all    Ages.      By   E.   Paxton    Hood. 
A  New  Edition,  two  series  in  one  vol.,  izmo $1-75 


Prayers  for  the  Use  of  Families.     By  William  Jay,  author      f 
of  "Morning  and   Evening  Exercises,"'  &c.       A    New    Edition. 
I2mo.  tinted  paper,  reduced  from $1.50   to   i.oo 

JENKINS. 

Little  Hodge.    By  the  author  of  Ginx's  Baby.    One  vol.  I2mo.    1.25 
Luchmee  and  Dilloo.     A  Novel.     (In press.") 

MOFFAT. 

A   Comparative  History  of  Religions.     By  Jas.  C.  Moffat.       f 
D.  D.,    Professor  of  Church    History   in    Princeton     Theological 
Seminary.     One  vol ,  I2tno.     Part  1st.  The  Ancient  Scriptures..      1.75 

MACDONALD. 


The  Book  of  Ecclesiastes  Explained,  Critically  and  Popu- 
larly',  by  James  M.  Macdonald,  D.  D.      izmo 1.75 

MANNING,  ANNE. 

Maiden  and  Married  Life  of  Mary  Powell. 1.25 

Cherry  and  Violet.      i8mo.,  red  edges i.oo 

The  Household  of  Sir   Thos.  More.      i8mo,  red  edges i.oo 

The  Faire  Gospeller,  Anne  Askew.     i8mo,  red  edges i.oo 

Jacques  Bonneval:     A  Tale  of  the  Huguenots.      i6mo i.oo 

The  Spanish  Barber:  A  Tale  of  the  Bible  in  Spain.     i6mo.  i  25 

MARRIAGE  CERTIFICATES. 


Marriage  Certificates.     From  a  beautiful  and  chaste  steel 

engraving.     On  plate  paper,  per  dozen i.oo 

On  bank  note  paper,  per  dozen i.oo 

MATEER. 

The  Land  of  Charity :  A  Descriptive  Account  of  Tra- 
vancore  and  its  Devil  Worship.  By  Rev.  F.  S.  Mateer,  F.  L.  S. 
With  over  50  illustrations,  izmo,  fancy  cloth 2.2.5 


DODD    &    MEAD  S    CATALOGUE. 

MIMPRISS. 

The  Gospel  Treasury  and  Treasury  Harmony  of  the  Four 
Evangelists.  With  Scripture  Illustrations,  Copious  Notes  and 
Addenda,  Analytical  and  Historical  Tables,  Indexes  and  Map, 
&c.  By  Robert  Mimpriss.  Crown  8vo,  over  900  pages,  cloth 
extra,  edges 3.50 

TJie  Same,  quarto  edition,  large  type,  reduced  from  $11.00 

t° • $7-5° 

The   Gospels  in  Harmony. — Having  the  Texts  of   the 
Four  Evangelists  in  parallel  columns,  with  Notes,  References, 
and  Chart.     By  R.  Mimpriss. 
•{•Pocket  Edition,  small  type,  paper,  60  cts. ;   cloth 0.75 

i6mo         "         larger     "     cloth 1.25 

The  Steps  of  Jesus.    The  Four  Evangelists  combined  and  ar- 
ranged in  Chronological  Order,  and  as  a  Consecutive  Narrative. 

With  Chart.     By  R.  Mimpriss.     i8mo,  cloth 75 

Pocket  Edition,  cloth 35 


The  Path  of  Jesus.      A  Map  of  Palestine,  showing  the 

eiurneys  of  Christ,  and  locating  all  the  Events  in  the  Gospel 
istory.     By  R.  Mimpriss.     For  the  Wall,  mounted  on  rollers, 


size  4x5  feet 7-°° 

With  cloth  back,  folded  for  pocket 20 

Lessons  on  the  Life  of  Christ.  Harmonized  from  the  Four 
Evangelist  In  Four  Grades,  with  Teachers'  Manuals.  By 
Robt.  Mimpriss. 

Vol  I.     Lessons.     \  Grade  1 20 

for  the      >       "     2 20 

Scholar.     )        "     3 2O 

Manuals    \  Grade  i, 40 

for  the     \      "      2, 40 

Teacher,  )      "      3, 40 

Studies 40 

Vol.11.     Lessons.    Grade  1 20 

"        2, 20 

"         3> 20 

Manuals.      "      I, 40 

"      2, 40 

"      3 40 

Studies, 40 

NEWCOMB. 

The  Young  Ladies'  Guide  to  the  Harmonious  Development 

of  Character.     By  Harvey  Newcomb.     I2mo 1.50 

PETERS. 

Peters  on  Baptism.     Sprinkling  the  only  Scripture  Mode 

of  Baptism.     By  Absalom  Peters,  D.  D.     i8mo 8$ 

PELATAN. 

The  Pastor  of  the  Desert — Jean  "Jarrousseau.     Translated  f 

from  the  French  of  Eugene  Pelatan.     umo,  illustrated 125 


DODD    &    MEAD  S    CATALOGUE 
ToRTER. 

The  Sciences  of  Nature  versus  the  Science  of  Man.     By     f 
Noah  Porter,  D.D.,  President  of  Yale  College.     One  volume, 
I2ino $1.00 

PARKER. 

The  Initiatory  Catechism  ;  an  Introduction  to  the  Shortei 
Catechism,  for  Young  Children.  By  Rev.  Joel  Parker,  D.D. 
Per  100  3.00 

ROWLAND. 

The   Path   of  Life.     By   Rev.    H.   A.   Rowland,   D.D. 

iSmo 60 

Light  in  a.  Dark  Alley.     181110 

The  Way  of  Peace.     i2mo 

RALEIGH. 

The  Little    Sanctuary   and  other  Meditations.     By  Dr.    \ 
Alex.  Raleigh,  of  London,  author  of  "  Quiet  Resting  Piaces." 
I2mo 1.75 

RAUCH. 

Psychology ;  or,  a  View  of  the  Human  Soul,  including 

Anthropology.     By  Rev.  F.  A.  Rauch,  D.D.     i2mo 1.75 

ROE. 

Harriers  Burned  Away.     A  Story.     By  Rev.  E.  P.  Roe.     f 
I2mo 1.75 

SPENCER. 

A  Pastor's  Sketches.     By  Rev.  I.  S.  Spencer,  D.D.     A     f 
New  Edition,  two  vols.  in  one,  large  I2mo,  with  portrait,  re- 
duced from $3-5o    to   2.00 

Sermons.     Vol.  i. — Practical. » 2.00 

"  "     2. — Doctrinal 2.00 

"  "     3. — Sacramental 2.00 

Any  volume  sold  separately, 

STRETTON,  HESBA. 

Bede's  Charity.     A  New  Edition,   with  twelve   illustra-    f 
tions 1.50 

Max    Kromer :     A    Story   of    the    Siege   of    Strasburg. 

i6mo 75 

Nelly s  Dark  Days.     i6mo 75 

Hester  Morley 's  Promise.     i2mo.  (In  press).    \ 


DODD    &    MEAD  S    CATALOGUE. 

SPRING'S  WORKS,  (Rev.  Gardiner,  D.D.) 

Attractions  of  the  Cross.      1 21110 $r.  oo 

The  Mercy  Seat 1.75 

First  Things.     Two  vols 3. 50 

Glory  of  Christ.     Two  Vols 3.  oo 

Short  Sermons  for  the  People i.  50 

Power  of  the  Pulpit 1.75 

The  Contrast.     Two  vols 3.00 

Obligations  of  the  World  to  the  Bible i.  50 

SMITH. 

The  Book  that  Will  Suit  You;  or,  a  Word  for  Every 
One.  By  Rev.  James  Smith.  32mo,  cloth  extra,  bevelled 
boards,  red  edges i.oo 

SIMMONS. 

Scripture  Manual.  Alphabetically  and  Systematically 
arranged.  By  Charles  Simmons.  Designed  to  facilitate  the 
finding  of  proof  texts.  I2mo,  cloth !-75 

TYTLER. 

Margaret:    A  Story.     By  C.  C.  Fraser  Tytler,  author  of    f 
"Jasmine  Leigh,"  &c.,  &c.     I2mo,  twelve  illustrations 1.75 

VlNET. 

Montaine  and  other  Miscellanies.     By  Alex.  Vinet,  D.D. 

I2mo 1.75 

Gospel  Studies.     By  Alex.  Vinet,  D.D.     1 21110 1.50 

VAN  OOSTERZEE. 


The  Theology  of  the  New  Testament;    A  Hand-Book  for   f 
Bible  Students.    By  J.  J.  Van  Osterzee,  D.  D. ,  one  of  the  authors 
of   Lange's  Commentary.     Translated  by  Maurice  J.   Evans. 
One  vol.,  I2mo 1.75 

WORBOISE. 

The  Lillingstones  of  Lillingstone.     By  Emma  Jane  Wor-   f 
boise.     I2mo.     Twelve  illustrations i.  75 

WORLD'S  LACONICS. 


World' s Laconics,  The.  On  the  Best  Thoughts  of  the  Best 
Authors,  in  Prose  and  Poetry.  By  Tryon  Edwards,  D.D. 
I2mo,  cloth  extra 1.75 

WEITBRECHT. 


Miracles  of  Faith  :     A  Sketch  of  the  Life  of  Beate  Paulus.     f 
By   Mary   Weitbrecht.     With  an  Introduction  by  Cha  rles  S. 
Robinson,  D. D.     i8mo,  red  edges. : O-7S 


DODD  &  MEAD'S  JUVENILE  CATALOGUE. 

NEW    SETS    IN    BOXES. 


TJie  Story  of  Elsie.     Three  vols.  i6mo. 


Elsie  Dinsmore.  Elsie's  Holidays  at  Roselands. 

Elsie's  Girlhood. 

The  August  Stories.     By  Jacob  Abbott.     Four  vols.  i6mo.    6  oo 

August  and  Elvie.  ScJiooner  Mary  Ann. 

Hunter  and  Tom.  Granville  Valley. 

The  Onward  Library.     Five  vols.,  in  a  neat  box,  i6mo ^  50 

Comprising — 

The  Clergyman's  Home.  Children  at  Home. 

Onward.  Edward's  Wife. 

The  Vendale  Library.     Five  vols.  i6mo 750 

Comprising — 

Christabel  Kingscote.  Vendale  Lost  Property  Office. 

Rectory  and  Manor.  Cojsley  Annals. 

Wandering  Homes. 

The  Daybreak  Library.     Five  vols.  i6mo 750 

England's  Daybreak.  Vineyard  Laborers. 

Heights  and  Valleys.  Lucy  Herbert. 

Among  the  Huts. 

The  Derry  Library.       Five    vols.    i6mo 7  sc 

Derry.  Days  and  Nights  in  the  East. 

Physician's  Daughter.  Land  of  Forum  and  Vatican. 

Times  of  Knox. 

The  Sunbeam  Library.     Seven  vols.  161110 8  oo 

A  Sunbeanfs  Influence.  The  Wilmot  Family. 

The  Gravelyn  Family.  Courage  and  Cowards. 

Dame  Wynton's  Home.  Our  School  Days. 

A  Tale  of  Two  Old  Songs. 

Little  Harry's  Library.     Five  vols.  i6mo 5  60 

Little  Harry's  Troubles.  Faithful  unto  Death. 

Sowing  in  Tears.  Return  from  India. 

The  Harleys  of  Chelsea  Place. 

The  Victory  Library.     Five  vols.  i6mo 575 

Faith  and  Victory.  Lucy  Seymour. 

Glenlsla.  Alice  Thome. 

Three  Little  Sitters. 

The  Village  Library.      Six  vols.  i6mo 700 

The  Besieged  City.  Family  at  Heatherdale. 

Pierre  and  His  Family.  Last  Days  of  the  Martyrs 

By-Gone  Days  in  cur  Village.  Steps  in  the  Dark. 


DODD  &  MEAD'S  JUVENILE  CATALOGUE. 
THE  JUNO  STORIES.     By  Jacob  Abbott.     Four  vols.  i6mo,  $500 

JUNO  AND  GEORGE.  HUBERT. 

MARY  OSBORNE.  JUNO  ON  A  JOURNEY. 


THE   ROLLE    AND    LUCY   BOOKS    OF   POETRY.     By  Jacob 

Abbott.     Three  vols.  i6mo 3  oo 


THE  BRANTLEY  STORIES.     Five  vols.  1 6m o 625 

PHILIP  BRANTLEY.  THE  ORPHAN'S  TRIUMPHS. 

GENEVA'S  SHIELD.  THE  SPANISH  BARBE'R. 

HEROES  OF  PURITAN  TIMES. 


HEROES  AND  MARTYRS.     Four  vols.  i6mo 600 

MARCELLA.  GEOFFREY  THE  LOLLARD. 

ORIENTAL  SCENES.  SOVEREIGNS  OF  THE  BIBLE. 


THE  CLIFFORD  LIBRARY.     Five  vols.  161110 625 

THE  CLIFFORD  HOUSEHOLD.  THE  BREWER'S  FAMILY. 

THE  FINLAND  FAMILY.  THE  KEMPTONS. 

CAPTAIN  CHRISTIE'S  GRANDAUGHTER. 


ROBERT  AND  LUCY  LIBRARY.     Four  vols.  i6mo. 


JACQUES  BONNEVAL.  AMY  CARR. 

LUCY  LEE.  ROBERT  THE  CABIN-BOY. 


THE  COUSIN  BESSIE  SERIES.  Six  vols.  i6rao 4  so 

COUSIN  BESSIE.  TOIL  AND  TRUST. 

ALICE  AND  HER  FRIENDS.  TOM  BURTON. 

THE  BROWNINGS.  THE  GRAHAMS. 


THE  COTTAGE  LIBRARY.  Six  vols.  i8mo 525 

THE  OLD  CHEST.  UNCLE  BARNABY. 

SHADOWS  AND  SUNSHINE.  HENRY  WILLARD. 

SUNDAY  SKETCHES.  GLENARVON. 


FRED  AND  MINNIE  LIBRARY.     Five  vols.  i8mo 375 

MINNIE  CARLETON.  THE  RUSSEL  FAMILY. 

THE  DEAF  SHOEMAKER.  FRED  LAWRENCE. 

FRANK  FOREST. 


CHARLOTTE  ELIZABETH'S  WORKS.  Eight  vols.  i8mo 700 

PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS.  JUDAH'S  LION. 

JUDEA  CAPTA.  THE  FLOWER  GARDEN. 

THE  DESERTER.  COUNT  RAYMOND. 

FALSEHOOD  AND  TRUTH.  WRONGS  OF  WOMEN. 


University  of  California 

SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 

405  Hilgard  Avenue,  Los  Angeles,  CA  90024-1388 

Return  this  material  to  the  library 

from  which  it  was  borrowed. 


QLJAN  ^0 
REC'D  LD-URL 


NU 


R62p  Play  and  profit 
in  TT.V  rarden 


095  549  0 


SP93 
R62p 


V 


